Codename Jackie
by RickyRiddle
Summary: Shiena, a young computer technician who is obsessed with a notorious serial killer, is hired by a secret agency to track down this serial killer. This is how her obsession eventually turned into love, which may become mutual...
1. A disease that can't be cure

**Hello! So here I am again, writing a new multi-chapter fic for OtoShie. I'm obsessed, aren't I? This fic will be different than my previous OtoShie fics, I'm trying a new approach and dynamic for them. If you're familiar with my usual OtoShie fics you might like the change, and if you usually don't like my OtoShie fics, give this one a chance, you might be surprised! Without further ado, I'll let you read! Enjoy!**

**warning: graphic depiction of violence and death.**

* * *

"_The victim, a 28 years old woman, was found lifeless in her apartment. Her body was covered in awful mutilations and was left with her belly ripped open._"

Shiena felt a chill down her spine when she read those words and a slight feeling of excitement. Even though she thought it was awful and wished the culprit would be arrested, she couldn't help but be fascinated by them. She wanted to know why they kill, what they feel when they took someone's life, what kind of expression they have when they tortured those women. What could have led them to such a life, their childhood, what they do when they aren't killing. She wanted to know everything about them.

"_The police is attributing this horrible murder to the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century, who is already over twenty victims now._"

So it was really them. Shiena had saved every article about their crimes, she often reread them, she even hacked into the police system to have more information about the crimes and the culprit. She knew all the information about the victims and the current investigation about Jack the Ripper.

"_The police is looking for a man…_"

Shiena immediately stopped reading, a little bit annoyed. Again, another article who thought they were a man. She was convinced that it was wrong, the killer must be a woman. Shiena had analyzed all the murders, all the clues, and she was 100% sure that Jack the Ripper was a woman. So she was always bothered to read in those articles that the culprit was a man.

Even the police weren't even suspecting the possibility of the killer being a woman. As if a woman wasn't capable of as much cruelty as a man. Women weren't all innocent and frail creatures incapable of hurting others, some of them could be really vicious. Shiena couldn't help but think it was sexist of them to not even consider the possibility of Jack being a woman.

Shiena looked at the time and realized it was time for her to start her work. She closed the article and went on some website. She was working at home as a computer technician, hacking websites of bug company to test their security. It was something she was good at, and it paid well enough to earn a living.

She sighed, it was hard to focus on her work when all she had on her mind was Jack the Ripper. A part of her wished to meet her, but at the same time, she knew that she would probably die if she does. She let out a bitter giggle.

"_As if she would be interested in killing a girl as plain as me._"

Maybe it was for the best. After all, she didn't want to die. It was better for her to simply observed the killer from afar, without acting searching to meet her in real life.

She continued to type on her keyboard, finally focusing on her work, while deep down in her mind, Jack the Ripper was still there, like a disease that she couldn't cure.

* * *

The warm water was flowing on her, washing away all the blood. The hot water on her skin was comfortable and relaxing, she needed to decompress and make the adrenaline go down. She was still pretty excited, but she couldn't leave like that. She had to look calm and normal, to not arise suspicion.

When she was perfectly clean, Otoya turned off the water and grabbed a towel, before she exited the shower. She took the time to wipe herself and dry before she spotted her clothes and put them back. She looked around, making sure she didn't leave anything belonging to her in the bathroom, like some of her hair in the shower.

Otoya left the bathroom and wandered a little in the apartment before she went to the bedroom. She avoided the pool of blood on the floor as she got closer to the bed. A beautiful woman was lying in it, with a rather generous bosom and curves. Her beauty was accentuated by all the bloody cuts on her, this pretty red colour embellish her charm. Her face was stuck on such a painful expression, such raw emotions, so honest, it was so pretty. Her hair was a mess, it looked like a child a played in them with scissors.

Delicately, Otoya slipped a flower in the woman's hair, completing her work. This woman had been such a pretty blooming flower, Otoya cut her with care, and turned her into a magnificent flower arrangement. What was pretty needed to die when it was still pretty, otherwise, their beauty would simply fade away. It was her duty to preserve their beauty and make them even more beautiful. And she had such fun doing so, everyone should have pleasure doing their work, otherwise what was the point? Killing beautiful women was simply her vocation and she enjoyed every second of it.

Otoya wondered what will be the people's reaction when they will discover the corpse. Shock, disgust, horror? Or maybe sadness, anger, fear. She wished she could be there to see their face. Looked like she'll have to just be satisfied with listening to the news and reading the newspaper.

She always enjoyed watching the news after one of her murders. She liked the thought that millions of people were watching at the same time, learning about her crime, thinking about her, witnessing her art, fearing her. It was giving her so much power over so many people, just thinking about it made her so excited.

She found it funny how they all think she was a man. It was true that statistically speaking, most violent serial killer were men. She enjoyed to have fooled and deceived everyone about her identity, and it was giving her an advantage. This way, nobody was suspecting her of being Jack the Ripper, which assure her to not get arrested and to be able to continue her little fun with complete impunity. It felt like she was above the law, that she could do what she wanted. Well, everything was legal, as long as you don't get caught. That was her mentality.

Otoya tied up her hair and walked towards the front door, humming joyfully to herself, satisfied with her work. But now it was time for her "real" work, the one she did to earn a living. After all, killing won't bring food on her table.

Otoya left the place, smiling to herself, hype to see the news tomorrow.

* * *

Ding dong… ding dong… ding dong!

Shiena wriggled in her bed, lazily rubbing her eyes before opening them. The doorbell continued to ring, insisting. Shiena sighed and wondered who could be there at such an early hour before she noticed the time on her clock. It was already the afternoon.

"Shit!"

Shiena immediately got up from her bed and put her slippers, still in pyjama. She head for the front door, curious about who it was but also nervous. She usually had barely any, if it wasn't any, visitors. Was it a seller? If so, what was she supposed to do? She never had those before. Was she supposed to refuse politely? Be firm? Be rude? It was starting to stress her out.

She nearly stumbled on her own feet as she reached the main door and grabbed the handle. She took a deep breath, nervous and even slightly afraid before she finally opened the door.

Shiena froze in place when she discovered who it was. She didn't know that person, but she wished she did. In front of her was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. Tall, short red hair that looked like a magnificent lion mane, eyes as pretty as rubies, a face that reminded her of a prince, and especially, a pair of really big breasts. She was just so perfect, a true Greek Goddess. And on top of that, she was wearing a clean suit with no tie, giving her even more charm and even sex-appeal. Shiena didn't know where to look, she didn't dare to look at her in the eyes, so she just ended up staring at her chest.

"Excuse me for the bother, my name is-"

"Ah... huh... sorry... I'm not interested... with what you sell..." Shiena said nervously.

The red-haired woman remained speechless, like she was confused, while Shiena remained quiet, embarrassed and worried to have been rude to such a goddess. She wanted to apologies and bought whatever she was selling, even if it was some kind of cult.

"O-Okay... I'll buy it... what are you selling?" Shiena asked.

"Uh... I think there's a mistake. I'm not selling anything. But if you let me in, you may earn a significant among of money."

That statement… just sounds so suspicious. Anything related to money was worth to be doubt. What if she was some kind of criminal? No, she looked too clean and gorgeous to be one. But after all, appearance could be deceiving, this woman could be dangerous. But why would she be targeting her? She was a nobody, just a random hacker working for big companies, why would anyone want anything to do with her? Despite her worry, Shiena eventually let the woman entered and led her to the living room, trying her best to avoid all the things scattered on the floor. Shiena felt ashamed to let such a beautiful and clean woman walked in such a messy place, ashamed to have let herself go like that for weeks now without properly cleaning her apartment.

Shiena motioned to the woman to sit on the couch, which was a little overstocked. The red-haired woman found a free spot and sat there, while Shiena sat on the armchair in front of the couch. The brunette was nervously tapping her fingers on the armrest, barely looking at the woman, too nervous to look at her directly. The woman looked perfectly calm and didn't seem to be bothered with the mess, she only seemed interested in Shiena.

"May I... propose you something to drink? Coffee, tea, juice, water...?" Shiena proposed nervously.

"No, it'll be fine, thanks," the woman replied, smiling.

Even her smile was beautiful. She had such a pure face, she looked like someone who could never harm anyone, someone who instead would defend you at any cost. Shiena felt at ease with her, she was still a little bit nervous but she didn't think this woman could hurt her.

"So... why... are you here?" Shiena dared to ask.

"Hm, yeah, you must be wondering who I am. My name is Namatame Chitaru, and I'm a special agent working for a secret agency under the Public Security Intelligence Agency, the PSIA. My agency is called Anti-Killer Agency, also known as AKA."

Shiena remained speechless for a moment. Secret agency working for the PSIA? Special agent? What was that... it sounded like a cliché synopsis for a cheap mystery book, she saw that type of plot in so many animes. To be frank, she liked that trope, but she never expected that she would meet something like that in real life. It must be a prank, right? There was no way this woman was really a secret agent, yet, she looked so serious.

"It's a joke... right?" Shiena replied with a nervous giggle.

"I'm afraid that it's not. I'm secret agent Namatame," Chitaru said as she showed her badge that looked like a police one.

"Ah... and... what do you want from me?" Shiena asked, a little bit worried.

"AKA is tracking down dangerous killers such as professional assassins or infamous serial killers, psychopaths, people that are too dangerous for the normal police. And right now our number 1 target is Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century."

Shiena's heart missed a beat when she heard that name. Her current obsession, almost a schoolgirl crush, the person she was so eager to know more about.

"What do you know... about her?" Shiena asked.

"Her? You think they are a woman?"

"Well, according to my analysis of the crimes, yeah I'm pretty sure Jack is a woman."

"Hm... interesting. Well, at AKA we were thinking of a man, but the possibility of them being a woman is plausible. I'm interested in learning why you think this way, I want you to come with me to our HQ."

"... what? But... first... why me?!" Shiena exclaimed, confused.

"We have been investigating on you, Kenmochi Shiena. We know you hacked the police about the crimes regarding Jack the Ripper. We know you collection dozen of articles about their crimes. We know that you know information about them that we don't. This is why... we want you to join us. Join AKA and help us stop this bastard!"

Shiena couldn't believe what she just heard. Her, who was just a normal computer technician, was asked to become... a special agent? To work in a secret agency to track down killers? It sounded so unreal, it couldn't be true. And even if it was, how could she accept? That would be too dangerous, too risky, almost suicide. And yet, it would bring her closer to her obsession, Jack the Ripper. Maybe it was her chance to finally know more about her, and perhaps, after she was arrested, meet her in person in a safe environment.

Shiena took a deep breath, convinced that she was taking a terrible decision, but willing to take it anyway.

"I'm down, when do we start?"

* * *

Otoya stretched and yawned as she headed for the tavern near her house. There was nothing better than a little beer or even a fancy cocktail after work. She pushed the door opened and sat at her usual seat, on the stool near the bar. The usual bartender was there, a short girl with blonde hair, giving their drink to customers.

"A Bloody Mary please, no celery, but a little umbrella instead," Otoya asked with her usual charming smile.

"Just a moment," the bartender said.

The blonde girl came back a couple of minutes later with a reddish drink and a little umbrella inside, as well as a straw. She put it in front of Otoya with a polite smile on her face.

"Thank you, Hashiri-san!"

Nio nodded as she started to clean some glasses, humming to herself. It was starting to get late so many customers were leaving, but there was still a few more. Too much for them to talk about "real" stuff.

"So, how was your day at work, Takechi-san?" Nio asked.

"Hm, the usual. I was able to sell a lot of flowers today, people are so into those. Well, I can't blame them, who doesn't like pretty flowers? Men who want to charm women, women who simply like flowers, children who want to give them as a gift to their mother, every reason is valid. I'm always happy to make them the flower arrangement they want! Ah, I also had one customer who wanted their hair cut, I think I did a pretty good job. She was a beautiful woman ~"

Otoya took a sip of her bloody mary, appreciating the spicy taste before she looked back at Nio.

"What about you? How was your day?" Otoya asked.

"Same, the usual. I only work here at night so I always have the worst clients, just look at you... anyway, no fight today so I guess it's good. And I got a lot of tips, speaking of that would you mind...?"

Nio showed her the little cup with money in it, her tips for the day.

"This bar is pretty western huh, you know it's not polite to ask for that in Japan," Otoya replied with a smirk.

"Well, this bar is pretty popular with foreigners, so most of them insisted to leave tips."

"Very well then..."

Otoya dropped a 500 yen banknote in the tip cup, much to Nio's rejoice as she smiled widely and started to hummed again, wiping clean another glass.

Otoya took another sip of her drink, looking around. Almost everyone had left now, the only remaining clients were drunkards who were half-conscious and wouldn't even hear them.

"You last murder was sloppy, Takechi-san," Nio said coldly.

"Huh? I thought it was good, as usual," Otoya replied cheerfully.

"No, your murders are always so sloppy, you leave so many evidence because you're so arrogant, you think you're above the law and that you will get away with anything. But not this time. Your last one was so sloppy that you had a witness!" Nio revealed.

Otoya continued to drink her bloody mary, not stressed at all and rather calm, yet a little bit intrigued.

"Huh?"

Nio slammed a picture on the bar counter. Otoya nonchalantly looked at it, curious. It was the picture of a man, not particularly attractive, or clean either. He honestly looked like a bum. Far from what interested Otoya.

"What about him?" Otoya asked.

"He saw you left the victim's house."

"And? It doesn't prove that I'm the murderer."

"Takechi-san, he saw you right when the time of death had been established. If he talks to the police, they will arrest you."

Otoya froze for a moment. Her, being arrested? Unthinkable. She never even thought about this possibility. She was simply too great to be arrested like all those mere killers, she was above them, she was above the law itself. The police couldn't stop her, she was too smart for them, too strong. She had to prove it and do something to solve this problem.

"What do you want me to do?" Otoya asked coldly, dropping her usual cheery mask.

"Kill him. He's just a junky, he's currently at the hospital, he had an overdose. He'll be unable to confess for a while, but as soon as he gets better the police will interrogate him. You need to kill him first."

"Hm, he's not my type."

"I don't care about that. If he talks, you're done, it's prison time for you."

"But can't you kill him yourself? Aren't you part of some secret group or something?"

"I have no idea why you think that, and even if it was true, why would I help you? It's your mess, deal with it. You need to learn to deal with the consequences of your action," Nio replied.

Otoya was actually a little bit pissed. She hated unexpected things, she disliked to not be in control of the situation. The world was her playground, everyone was her toys, she could play with them the way she wanted until they break. Toys she didn't want were nothing more than useless objects, and any of those that were not playing their role in her playground needed to be eliminated. Any nuisance should be eradicated.

"Okay, I'll kill that guy," Otoya finally agreed.

"Try to make it took like a suicide, you don't want any more attention," Nio said.

Otoya grinned, while Nio simply looked annoyed. They met a couple of weeks ago, Nio witnessed one of Otoya's murders. But instead of calling the police, Nio helped her get away with it. Since that day, Otoya viewed her as an ally, someone useful she could use, like a tool. She was convinced that Nio was part of some organization, but the blonde bartender never confirmed her suspicion. Not that Otoya actually cared, as long as she helped her cover her traces and get away with what she does, she was satisfied. And if she was really from some secret organization, maybe she could get some benefit out of it. Truly, Nio was a useful tool.

Otoya finished her Bloody Mary and left the now empty glass on the counter, before leaving a couple of banknotes to pay for the drink.

"Thanks for the drink, it was good, as usual," Otoya started with her fake cheery persona, as she took the picture. "I'll take care of that as soon as possible, no worries. Thanks for everything, seeya next time ~"

"You don't need to come back, except if you tip me!" Nio exclaimed as Otoya left the tavern.

Walking down the street, Otoya looked at the picture. Really, he was totally not her type. But looked like she would have to do this sacrifice, for the sake of her oh so pleasant life. She sighed and put the picture in her pocket as she headed for home, tired and a little bit tipsy, only desire to lay down in bed and sleep.

* * *

**Okay, it may look like it will be focusing on Shiena and Chitaru together, but I swear, it's a OtoShie fanfic!**

**I'm getting inspired by the series Killing Eve and Hannibal, I find the relationships Vilanelle/Eve and Hannibal/Will to have an interesting dynamic that could fit OtoShie. The title is a reference to Killing Eve's book title, Codename Vilanelle.**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, and please let me know if you want me to continue!**

**Btw, if you want to join my discord server, add me, my username is RickyOtaku#5402**


	2. Anti-Killers Agency

**Hello there! I was too excited about this fic so I decided to update it already, hope you'll like it.**

**warning: implied homophobia, mention of sex and graphic violence.**

* * *

"This will be your new colleague, Kenmochi Shiena."

Shiena nervously looked down when Chitaru started to introduce her to what she believed were the other secret agents. There was a rather masculine girl with blue hair who was staring at her with an icy glare, and next to her was a girl with curly auburn hair who was smiling to her in a friendly way. Shiena tried to smile back but felt intimidated by the other girl. The office wasn't really big, it was surprisingly small for a secret organization. Shiena had tried to look professional by wearing a suit with a tie and a skirt, it had been a while since she wore that type of clothes. Usually working at home, she never really cared about her outfit before.

"Kenmochi is a brilliant hacker and a specialist regarding serial killers and female psychopaths," Chitaru added.

Shiena froze with confusion. What was she saying? That wasn't even true... The blue-haired girl glared even more at her with suspicion in her eyes, while the other girl only seemed intrigued.

"Kenmochi, you'll work with those two from now one. This is Azuma Tokaku, another special agent, and Ichinose Haru, her assistant," Chitaru said.

Haru immediately rose up from her chair and rushed towards Shiena, grabbing her hands and shaking them energetically with a wide smile on her face.

"Hi, nice to meet you, Kenmochi-san! I hope we'll get along and become friends! Hey, can I call you Shiena?" Haru asked enthusiastically.

"Uh… yeah, sure," Shiena replied, a little bit taken aback by Haru's positive energy.

Haru finally let go of her hands, still smiling at her cheerfully while Shiena smiled at her awkwardly, adjusting her glasses. Looked like she just made a friend that did seem nice.

"Kenmochi, the boss wants to have a talk with you," Chitaru suddenly said.

Shiena felt worried. Talking with the boss of a secret organization, it sounded really stressful. But it was her boss now, and she was working here, so she had to deal with it like the special agent she was now. She was not a child anymore but an adult after all.

Chitaru led her through the corridor to a door, which she knocked at. Shiena stayed still, trying to calm down her heart, which was racing in apprehension.

"You can come in," a feminine voice said behind the door.

Chitaru opened the door and walked in, followed by a nervous Shiena. Unlike the rest of the place, the office looked rather luxurious, it almost felt out of place. There was a fancy desk and sitting on a comfy-looking chair was a quite beautiful woman, with long strawberry blond hair and sky blue eyes. She looked so distinguished and elegant, just like a lady. By her side was a girl with long silver hair and amethyst eyes who looked even more nervous than Shiena. She noticed that the girl had a scar on her face, tracing the left part of her face over her eyes. Shiena was curious about how she got it, but now was probably not the right time to ask.

"Ah, Kenmochi-san I presume. Take a seat please," the lady-like woman said with a polite smile.

A little bit shy, Shiena sat in the chair in front of the woman's desk, a rather modest chair compared to hers. The woman was looking at some papers on her desk, before gazing at Shiena.

"So you are our new employee, the hacker," the woman said. "I am Hanabusa Sumireko, the one in charge of this place."

"Ah, uh, nice to meet you, Hanabusa…"

"From what I heard, you are a specialist when it comes to serial killers and female psychopaths."

"About that… not really? I don't know where you get that."

"Hm… according to our researches, you studied criminology, sociology and psychology."

"Yeah but… I never got any diploma out of those… it was just… for my personal knowledge," Shiena explained, embarrassed.

"Still, your grades were remarkable, and you definitely know a lot about those subjects. It almost seems like… a passion for you. Am I right?" Sumireko said with a smirk.

Shiena felt like she was implying something, but she wasn't sure what.

"I'm indeed… fascinated by the killer's mind. I always want to know what they are thinking and feeling, and why they are doing that…"

"And it seems your current 'fascination' is the killer we are looking for, Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century. I firmly believe your help would be valuable in this case, I have plenty of faith in you, Kenmochi-san."

Shiena looked down and blushed a little, embarrassed. She felt like people had too much faith in her. She was just a weirdo obsessed with a serial killer after all, but they made it look like she was some kind of specialist. She was afraid she wouldn't meet their expectation. She was just a computer technician, not an actual investigator, she didn't know how much she could help them. But she would feel bad to not at least try, especially since they had so much hope in her.

"I… I'll do my best!" Shiena declared.

Sumireko smiled with satisfaction.

"Perfect then! Do your best, Kenmochi-san. You will join the investigation right away. Now if you excuse me, I have some work to do."

"Of- Of course! I'll… I'll get to work!"

Shiena rose up and left Sumireko's office, feeling even more nervous but somewhat determined to succeed, yet a little bit suspicious about her new boss.

* * *

Shiena was wandering around in the base, waiting for her first meeting. She was nervous, she was the one in charge of the meeting. She had to explain her views on Jack the Ripper, profiling the serial killer and help to find who they were. She had a couple of days to prepare her presentation, she practiced a lot at home, but she was still so nervous about it. She was afraid of messing up or that people will think she was a creep, or just not take her seriously.

She found what appeared to be Chitaru's desk and, overtaken by a sudden impulsion, she decided to look around. Her desk was really clean and well organized, unlike hers. As a teenager, Shiena used to be more organized and tidy, but growing up she became messier. Maybe she should take example on Chitaru and get herself together and start cleaning more, especially her apartment.

Shiena noticed a picture on the desk, with a petite woman on it with long light blue hair and golden eyes. The brunette wondered who she was and why Chitaru had a picture of her on her desk. A friend? A family member? Or perhaps…

"Kenmochi? What are you doing here?"

Shiena jolted and turned back, to discover Chitaru, who was looking at her. She didn't look mad or anything, just confused. Shiena felt like she had been caught on the spot, like she was doing something bad.

"I was just… waiting for you," Shiena pretended.

"Oh, is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Yes… I'm… uh… really excited for the meeting!"

"Ah, same here. Can't wait to have your opinion on the ripper. I feel like it will greatly help us in our investigation."

Shiena sighed discreetly, relieved that Chitaru wasn't thinking she was spying on her, yet even more nervous about the reunion. She didn't want to let anyone down, especially not Chitaru. Shiena's eyes were once again attracted by the picture.

"This girl on the picture… who is she? Your little sister?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Oh, that's Kirigaya Hitsugi. My wife."

Shiena felt something break inside of her. So Chitaru, the oh so beautiful Chitaru, already had someone in her life. Someone pretty and cute. Obviously, someone like her simply couldn't be single. And it wasn't like Shiena had any chance with her, unlike her wife, she wasn't pretty or cute, she was just… normal. And plain.

"_Maybe I still have a chance with Jack-_"

Shiena immediately pulled herself together.

"_What are you thinking!? She's a serial killer, you're supposed to arrest her, not fall in love with her!_"

Shiena shook her head a little and gave herself a slap on the cheek.

"Huh, Kenmochi, are you alright?" Chitaru asked, concerned.

"Y-Yes! I'm just… so hype for the meeting! I can't control my excitement."

"Ah, I see… but be careful. I too, used to be obsessed with a certain killer, to the point I only thought about them day and night."

"Huh? Which killer?"

"... Angel Trumpet. A professional assassin using poison. AKA tried to track them down, in vain. They are inactive for years now so Hanabusa closed the case, but… I still want to find them."

Chitaru looked lost in her thought, with a serious expression. Shiena was afraid she might have woken up something in her, something she tried to bury deep down.

"Namatame?"

Chitaru was pulled out of her thought and looked at Shiena, before smiling with embarrassment.

"But it doesn't matter anymore, she should focus on the ripper. Just be careful to not let that obsess you too much and control your life."

"I… I won't, I promise!"

Chitaru smiled with relief and put a hand on Shiena's shoulder, which made the brunette felt a little warm suddenly.

"Now, it's time for the meeting. I hope you're ready," Chitaru said.

"I… I am!" Shiena declared, while in reality, she wasn't ready at all.

* * *

Shiena took a deep breath to calm down, facing all her colleagues. Haru and Tokaku were there, Chitaru too, Sumireko and the silver-haired girl too, with a couple more agents, men are women. There weren't many people, but it was enough to stress out Shiena. At school she always disliked orals, she was hoping she wouldn't have those as an adult.

Using the controller, Shiena activated the projector, showing the slideshow she had prepared for the meeting on a whiteboard. On the first slide, there was only written "Jack the Ripper and the psychology of the psychopathic serial killer." People in the room looked intrigued and whispered to each other until Shiena adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat.

"E-Everyone, I… I have been hired to help you regarding the case of Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century. So I prepared you a little slideshow to help you understand what kind of killer they are."

Shiena pressed a button on the controller and the slide changed, the title was "Psychopathy".

"Jack the Ripper is most likely really high on the psychopathic scale," Shiena continued. "Psychopathy, or as it's officially called, Antisocial Personality Disorder, contains those principle traits: lack of empathy, superficial charm, shallow emotions, pathological liar, lack of remorse or regret, incapable of bonding, control freak, fearless and often narcissistic. Psychopaths often wear what we call a 'mask' to appear normal, they fake most of their personality to fit in society, they are social predators who manipulate and deceive people on a daily basis. Even if most of them aren't dangerous per se, most serial killers are psychopaths-"

"But they can also be psychotics," someone suddenly interrupted. "Why Jack would be a psychopath instead of simply crazy?"

Shiena was expecting the possibility of being interrupted with sudden questions, but it still took her a couple of seconds to reply.

"The murders are brutal true, it looks like the work of a madman. But at the same time, it looked premeditated, the killer is leaving us messages with the flowers, they are toying with us. This looks more like the work of a psychopath, someone who knows what they are doing, there was no sign of effraction in any of the victims' houses. It means that the killer was invited, they tricked their victims, they were conscious of what they were doing. They deceive women and kill them in their own house, and then play with the cops. It's all just a game for them, like the world was their own personal playground and everyone their toys."

Since the person who interrupted her didn't seem like they wanted to argue, Shiena continued with another slide with "Jack the Ripper" as the title.

"According to my analysis, Jackie must be in their twenties, probably charismatic and charming, Japanese, appearing friendly and approachable, with a troublesome relationship with her parents, probably their mother…"

Someone suddenly raised their hand.

"Yes?" Shiena asked.

"Jackie?" the person asked.

Shiena suddenly blushed with shame when she realized that she gave a nickname to the serial killer.

"W-Well, I mean, since Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century is pretty long, I thought to shorten it, and I felt like Jack wasn't appropriate since she's a woman, so I thought about Jackie…"

"Wait, the killer is a woman? I thought they were a man!"

Shiena took a pause. Jackie's gender was something she wanted to bring up eventually, but not that soon. Looked like she'll have to establish that sooner than planned.

"Yes, I believe that the killer is a woman," Shiena said.

"But how? I mean, aren't almost all psychopathic serial killers men? And the victims are women, women who for most of them have been found naked, those murders were clearly sexual," someone protested.

"I won't deny that those murders were for some sort of sexual gratification, but it doesn't mean those are the work of a man. Jackie could be a lesbian," Shiena argued.

Some people looked surprised by this statement and mumbled to each other, much to Shiena's annoyance.

"A… lesbian? You mean-"

"Yes, I mean a woman who loves other women, a homosexual if you prefer. It happens, deal with it," Shiena replied.

"But still, the chance of the killer being a homosexual woman seems less likely than a heterosexual man, don't you think?" another one argued.

"Actually, no, I think it's more likely to be a woman," Shiena argued. "We can't deny that those murders were sexual, the killer was most likely having sex with some of the victims before killing them. And yet, we didn't find any sperm inside the victims, or on them."

"Maybe he didn't penetrate them?"

"Very unlikely for a male serial killer who kills for sexual pleasure," Shiena replied.

"But if it was a woman, wouldn't they be cum too on the body?"

"Not inside the vagina, and cum is easy to clean from the body," Shiena continued. "There are also two other reasons why I think Jackie is a woman. First, most victims were killed in their own houses. Maybe a few women would have felt enough comfortable to let an unknown man entered their home, but probably not all the victims. We can assume that the killer and the victims didn't know each other for long, making it even weirder for them to trust a stranger man like that. Women are more likely to trust another woman quickly than a man, so it seems more likely that all those women got deceived by a woman…"

Shiena waited for a little to see if anyone wanted to disagree, but was pleased to see everyone remained quiet.

"The second reason is, in certain cases, some clothes belonging to the victims had been stolen, which I believe was because Jackie's own clothes were bloodied and she couldn't go outside like that, so she stole some of the victims' clothes," Shiena explained.

"What if it's just a fetishist who enjoys women's clothes?" someone argued.

"Hm, it's a possibility, but I would like to remind you that the clothes thieving didn't happen each time. And when it happened, the victims, instead of being fully naked, had their clothes ripped off. This means Jackie wasn't sexually intimate with them, thus still clothed. So in those situations, she simply needed other clothes because hers were dirty. Also, for the times the victims were fully naked and no clothes were stolen, there were signs that the shower had been recently used, meaning that Jackie was probably naked when she killed and only needed to clean herself, thus not needing to steal clothes."

"Wait, so the killer took a shower at the victims' houses AFTER killing them? How carefree are they…"

"It even sounds sloppy," another one said.

"Well, now that I finished about Jackie's gender, I suppose I can elaborate more about her personality," Shiena continued. "She's an arrogant and narcissistic woman who hides behind a charming and friendly persona. She thinks she's above the law, that she can't be caught, she has such arrogant confidence in herself and probably enjoyed all the emotions she's causing with her murders, it wouldn't be surprising she watches the news after. She likes that people talk about her crimes, it gives her validation, she's an attention seeker, her murders are always flamboyant. And that little flower she had in the victims' hair, it's like she was signing… her work, her art, as if those murders were nothing more than flower arrangements for her. She probably views herself as an artist and takes great pride in her murders," Shiena said, before she took a break to breathe, feeling a little bit too passioned. "But no, she's not sloppy, she actually never left any significant clues about her identity, only fingerprints, and as I said, she's too arrogant to think she'll be caught. The fingerprints have been checked, she has no criminal records. She cleans a little after her crimes, enough to cover her traces. But her arrogance is her weakness, this is what will get her caught. She's smart, but not that smart."

Shiena sighed, feeling exhausted after all this talking, before she switched for the last slide called "Conclusion".

"In conclusion, Jack the Ripper, or as I call her Jackie, is a really charismatic, charming, yet arrogant and narcissistic woman who is currently playing with us. She may be carefree, she's not stupid, she knows what she's doing. We're looking for someone with a stable job, a model citizen with no criminal records, someone who looks simply too perfect and too nice. Probably really pretty, a little bit fashionable, but not too much that she would look unapproachable. We're looking for a young woman, homosexual, who simply looks like a totally normal citizen. Too normal," Shiena terminated her presentation. "Any question?"

Someone raised their hand.

"You talked about her relationship with her mother, why do you think they had a troublesome relationship?"

"Mostly because it's common for serial killers, especially psychopaths. They kill women as a way to rebel against their mothers, but in Jackie's case, despite the brutality of her murders, there seem to have… love. In her own way, she loved those women. In her eyes what she did was a proof of love. So I assume that she had a love/hate relationship with her mother, she probably loved her, but I suppose her mother must have been abusive to her," Shiena replied.

"Killing as proof of love… that's crazy."

"Psychopaths aren't crazy, but sometimes, their logic is simply different than ours, especially if they went through a traumatic past," Shiena said.

As she saw that there were no more questions, Shiena turned off the projection and sighed in relief, satisfied with the presentation and feeling like she did a good job. She glanced at Chitaru who looked at her with a smile of approbation, while Sumireko was smiling enigmatically. Then, Chitaru joined her in front of everyone.

"I would like to add that we have a witness that we'll go interrogate, someone who possibly saw the killer and can give us a physical description," Chitaru said.

Shiena was nervous yet excited. This witness could confirm whether or not she was right, if Jackie was really a woman. If it turned out that she was right, Shiena would finally feel proud of herself, feeling like for once, she had accomplished something good.

But if she was wrong, she would probably leave AKA, feeling no interest in catching a male serial killer.

* * *

Walking through the hospital corridor, Shiena was trying to control her shivering hands. Chitaru was with her, which somewhat eased her nervosity.

"Jackie huh… what a cute nickname. Almost sounds like you have a crush on them," Chitaru said.

"Haha… as if…" Shiena laughed nervously, trying to make it look like a joke.

"But I have to admit, I'm no better. I was so obsessed with Angel Trumpet that I barely had time for Hitsugi."

Shiena didn't know what to reply to that, so she simply smiled awkwardly.

They arrived at a hospital room and Chitaru knocked at the door. Someone came to open them, a young nurse, and Chitaru showed her her badge. The nurse got out of the way and let them came inside.

Lying on the bed was a man with a rather neglected appearance, far from being handsome. By his side was a policeman. Chitaru grabbed a chair and put it near the bed, gesturing Shiena to sit on it, which the brunette did.

"Itou-san, we are part of the police charged with investigating the murder of Watanabe-san. According to our sources, you were present on the crime scene when the murder occured. You possibly saw the culprit exit the victim's house. We need a physical description of them so we can catch them before they kill someone else," Chitaru asked with professionalism.

The man looked a little bit dizzy, like he wasn't entire here. He stared for a moment at Chitaru's bosom and then smiled.

"You're hot… do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

"I'm married," Chitaru replied.

"Oh, so you have a husband already…"

"A wife."

The man looked surprised for a moment, before he let out a laugh.

"Oh, so you swing that… what a shame, you're such a beautiful woman…," the man said before closing his eyes.

He stopped talking. Chitaru waited for a moment, before she sighed.

"Looks like he fell asleep… Kenmochi, stay with him in case he wakes up, I'll go grab coffee," Chitaru said before exiting the room.

Shiena obeyed and stayed on the chair, a little bit annoyed by what the man said. Then suddenly, he opened his eyes and started to giggle, which startled Shiena.

"She's gone huh… good. I don't trust pretty women, they are always backstabbers, especially one… of her kind," the man said. "But I'm fine with telling you."

Shiena knew she should take that as an insult, but right now, she wanted him to talk so much that she simply didn't care.

"Telling me what? Who the culprit was?" Shiena asked.

The man suddenly looked even more dizzy, his eyes keeping closing and opening.

"... tall," he mumbled.

"The culprit was tall?"

"... pretty…"

"Yes, please, continue!" Shiena said, feeling excited.

"Big… big boobs," the man said as he giggled.

And he closed his eyes again, his body becoming limp. Wondering if he was pretending to sleep again, Shiena softly shook his shoulder, but she got no reaction from him.

She would have liked for him to continue talking, but what he said was well enough to confirm her doubt. Shiena couldn't contain her grin of satisfaction as she rose up.

"Keep an eye on him!" Shiena said to the policeman.

"That's… that's my job, ma'am," he replied.

Shiena exited the room, feeling excited to tell Chitaru. She found her near the coffee machine, she looked like she was waiting for hers to pour.

"Namatame! The witness, he woke up-"

"Kenmochi? What are you doing here, you should be with him…"

"I know, but he was just pretending to sleep, he told me that the culprit was tall, pretty, and had big… breasts… I was right, Jackie is a woman!"

Before Chitaru could say anything, they suddenly hear a scream, a woman's scream. Immediately, Chitaru rushed towards the scream, followed by Shiena, worried. It led them to the witness room and carefully, they went inside.

They discovered the nurse and the policeman on the floor, lying in a pool of blood, inert. One the bed, the witness was wriggling in pain, and as they approached him, they noticed that his throat was slit opened. Chitaru immediately rushed towards him and grabbed his throat to put pressure on it, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Who did this!?" Chitaru asked. "Tell me who the culprit is!"

The man looked like he wanted to talk, but only blood came out from his mouth. His eyes became suddenly lifeless and empty, and his body limp. Chitaru waited for a couple of second, before releasing his neck.

"He… he's dead…" Chitaru mumbled.

Despite how tragic the situation was, Shiena couldn't help but notice that the window, who was closed when she left, was now opened. She looked through it and saw a silhouette running away.

The silhouette of someone with long hair.

* * *

Otoya was humming to herself, almost gamboling in the street. Her bloody scissors were hidden in her pocket, she had put a jacket to hide the red spot on her shirt. Her wig felt heavy on her head so she removed it, passing a hand through her hair. Killing that guy didn't bring her any of the sexual pleasure she was used to, but she was still satisfied. Now that the sole witness was dead, he couldn't talk about her and she won't get caught. She was free to continue her activities without any worry.

She didn't expect the room to have other people, but she managed to deal with them too. The nurse was easy to kill, and pretty cute, Otoya wished she could have had more time to enjoy it. The policeman was more of a challenge but she managed to kill him too, he didn't have the time to pull out his gun before Otoya stabbed him in the heart.

As she was heading for her home, she heard footsteps following her. Worried that it might be the police, Otoya turned back, and sighed when she discovered who it was.

"Oh, it's only you, Hashiri-san."

It was dark, it was the night, so it was hard to see what expression Nio has. The blonde bartender got closer to her, showing her rather cold and stoic expression.

"Once again, you did a sloppy job, Takechi-san…"

"Huh?"

"I said to make it look like a suicide."

"And I did!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully.

"You slit his throat… not a really common way to kill yourself."

"Meh, it happens."

"And the nurse and policeman?"

"A slip of the hand?"

Nio looked unconvinced, and a little bit annoyed. Not that Otoya really cared, but it would be such a bother if her only ally was mad at her. Not that she really needed an ally, but if Nio was really part of some sort of organization, she could cause her trouble. Unless she just killed her.

"It looks like I'll have to tame you, Takechi-san."

"Oh no, that's my line," Otoya mocked as she pulled out her scissors.

But before she could do anything, Nio pulled out a gun and shot.

Otoya froze, feeling a slight pain on her chest. Did she just… get shot? Was she… going to die? Her, the notorious Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century, dying so easily? It was unacceptable, she couldn't accept to go down so easily, not by the hand of a mere bartender.

Otoya lowered her head and discovered that instead of a bullet, she had been shot with what appeared to be… a dart. The serial killer then looked at Nio with incomprehension.

"... what?"

It was all Otoya could say before she collapsed to the floor, falling into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

**Finally, a fic where I can ramble about psychopaths and serial killers xD**

**And now you know why this fic is called Codename Jackie**

**What will happen to Otoya? You'll see next chapter!**

**Btw if you want to join my discord server, add me: RickyOtaku#5402**


	3. Mutual obsession

**Hey! After more than a month, I'm back with a new chapter! I had to finish a couple of fics before continuing this one.**

**warning: minor sexual content**

* * *

Shiena couldn't get out of her mind what happened. The corpses, the open wounds, and especially, the blood. Each time she closed her eyes, she could see crimson spots in her mind. It simply didn't want to go away, she was haunted by the colour red. Shiena rubbed her eyes, hoping that it would wipe them off, but it was in vain. It was as if her eyelids were stained with fresh blood.

"Kenmochi…"

Shiena raised her head when she heard her name. Chitaru was by her side, holding a foam cup with steam coming out from it. Shiena was sitting in the hospital stairs with a blanket above her shoulders, the hospital surrounded by police cars.

"Here's something to warm you up," Chitaru said as she handed her the cup.

Shiena took the cup and drank a sip. It was warm and bitter, just like coffee was. But the warmth in her throat was soothing, but it didn't wash away the blood in her mind. But at least it calmed her a little and helped her to relax. But the guilt still remained, weighing on her shoulders.

"It's my fault," Shiena suddenly said. "I should have stayed in the room, they all got killed after I left."

"It's not your fault. If you had stayed, you would have been killed too," Chitaru replied.

"But you told me to look after him, I should have protected him. He was our only witness!"

"Kenmochi, the culprit easily killed three people in not even a minute, including a cop. You couldn't have protected him. You're more valuable to the team alive than dead, there's no need for you to sacrifice yourself."

Shiena was a little bit comforted by Chitaru's words, but she still considered that she shouldn't have left. Maybe she could have slow down the culprit, see their face or even escape, allowing them to know what they look like. But it was probably pointless to think about it. What was done was done, she couldn't change the past, only accept it and live with the consequences of her choices.

"It was probably Jackie," Shiena said. "She learned somehow about the witness and wanted to be sure he wouldn't talk about her."

"That's what I thought too, even tho it wasn't like their usual crimes. But who else would have wanted him dead? But still, the fact they knew about him is worrisome, I feel like they are part of something bigger."

"At least the witness confirmed that Jackie is a woman."

"I mean, he might have said they had breasts, but can we really trust him? He was a macho, and probably high when he saw the ripper."

"I doubt he would have hallucinated breasts on the killer. I'm telling you, Jackie is a woman."

The paramedics walked in front of them, pushing gurneys with black bags on it, containing corpses, taking them to the coroner's vehicle to transport them to the local morgue. Shiena felt a chill down her spine thinking about the fact not so long ago they were all alive and she was talking to them. Three innocent people died today, a few numbers to add on Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century's already long list of victims.

Suddenly, Shiena heard a click, followed by a flash of light. She turned her head and discovered a short blonde girl taking pictures of the corpse, she then looked at her and, with a grin, took a picture of Shiena.

"Hey!" Shiena complained. "Don't take someone's picture without their consent!"

"Hehe, sorry~" the blonde girl said. "It's just that I never see you here. Who are you? Are you with the police?"

"I… uh…" Shiena mumbled, not sure of what she was allowed to say.

"You again… Kenmochi, this is Hashiri Nio, an independent journalist. Always sneaking to any crime scene and bothering us," Chitaru explained.

"Oh, so she's a member of AKA! Hm, she doesn't strike me as a special agent though," Nio commented with a smile that looked like a cat's.

Shiena remained confused. How did she know about AKA? She looked at Chitaru, hoping for an explanation. Her colleague seemed to have understood her interrogation.

"Yes, she's part of AKA, under the order of the local police," Chitaru said.

It took a few seconds for Shiena to realize what was going on. So AKA was known by other people, but instead of being a secret agency working for the government, they thought they were simply working for the police.

"So, any idea who's behind these murders?" Nio asked.

"We don't know for sure," Chitaru replied.

"Well, if AKA is here, then it must be a serial killer. The one you're currently investigating is Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century, right?" Nio insisted.

Chitaru looked annoyed, while Nio was simply smiling, but Shiena felt like there was something sinister behind that apparent innocent smile.

"The modus operandi is different, we don't think it's the ripper," Chitaru said. "The police just called us because there were three victims and they were suspecting that it was the work of a serial killer."

"Oh, I see… well then, I'll leave you. Call me if you learn anything new!" Nio replied as she walked away, gambolling and humming.

Chitaru sighed.

"What a nuisance," she said.

"So she thinks we work for the police," Shiena said.

"Yeah, she thinks AKA is a group under the police orders. Little does she knows, it's actually the police who work for us."

"Why… not tell her that we suspect Jackie?"

"Because it's none of her business. And it's better if the ripper doesn't think we suspect them, let's let them think they got away with this crime."

Shiena wondered if it was really the best approach, but decided to stay quiet. She didn't want to contradict Chitaru.

"Anyway, I talked with the nurses, the only person who asked for the witness' room was a woman with long black hair who claimed to be a relative. Maybe she's the culprit we're looking for, I don't think the witness had any relative."

"Hm, a woman huh… interesting."

Shiena finished her coffee and rose up, handing both the cup and the blanket to Chitaru.

"If you don't need me anymore, I'll go back home," Shiena declared.

"Oh sure. Be careful, and get some sleep. We're going to be quite busy tomorrow."

"Okay, seeya!"

Shiena walked away from the hospital, heading home. She felt some personal satisfaction to have a confirmation that Jack was indeed a woman, but in return, she had now three death on her conscience.

* * *

Otoya was welcomed by total darkness when she woke up. But she wasn't lying down as she would usually be in a bed, she was sitting on what seemed to be a chair. When she tried to move, she discovered that she couldn't. Her hands were tightly tied up behind her back, and her legs seemed to be tied up against the chair's legs. She instinctively tried to break free, but it was in vain.

Otoya took a deep breath. Things didn't look good for her. She tried to remember how she ended up like that and recalled Nio shooting her with some kind of dart. It most likely knocked her out and she brought her here and tied her up, but why? Otoya always had a doubt that Nio wasn't just a simple bartender, that she was part of something bigger, but she didn't expect her to attack her. Well, she could say it was her own fault for underestimate Nio, she had been neglectful and too carefree.

She realized that the reason for the darkness surrounding her was because of a bag on her head. Despite the situation, Otoya smirked. She wasn't worried at all, there was no point in panicking. After all, if Nio took the time and effort to kidnap and tied her up, surely she wasn't going to simply kill her. She must want something from her, and as long as she had some utility, she knew she won't be killed. And it wasn't like she knew what fear felt like.

Suddenly, she heard a door opening. Footsteps got closer to her, before turning around her. It annoyed Otoya quite a bit. Obviously whoever it was was doing that to intimidate and frightened her, not that it was working in the slightest. Just cut it out already and show yourself, no need to keep the suspense, it wasn't a damn horror movie!

Then, the bag on her head was removed. Otoya was blinded by the sudden light and had to close her eyes for a moment before she got used to the light. With no surprise, the one facing her was none other than Nio, grinning at her with malevolence.

"Good morning, Takechi-san!" Nio exclaimed with a fake cheery voice that Otoya was convinced she was better at faking.

"Good morning to you too, Hashiri-san!" Otoya replied cheerfully, proving her how better actor she was.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Well, it would have been more comfortable in a bed, but I suppose that with your measly salary, it may be too much to ask of you."

Nio suddenly stopped smiling and looked cold, and even annoyed. Otoya knew that it must be her true face. She felt that just like her, Nio was wearing a mask, a fake persona to pretend to be normal. But there was no way she was normal.

"You shouldn't joke around, not in your condition," Nio warned.

"You're right, we should take this seriously," Otoya replied, taking an obvious fake stoic expression. "Well then, what do you want from me?"

"Meh, not even going to beg me to not hurt or kill you? You're no fun, Takechi-san."

"I'm used to people begging me to spare them, I perfectly know how useless begging is. You have the same scent as me, no matter what you have planned for me, there's no way I could change your mind with some pointless begging."

"Please, don't compare me to you. I have nothing in common with a perverted freak such as yourself," Nio said with some displease in her voice.

"Ouch, well that was uncalled for," Otoya replied with a fake hurt expression.

Otoya noticed that Nio's first look tensed. She was angry. She wasn't as similar as she thought, Otoya wouldn't have reacted to such pitiful provocation. She would have found it funny and humour it. Looked like Nio was more impatient than her.

"Anyway, I'm here to make you a proposition," Nio said.

"Oh, interesting. Though you could have asked me, no need for kidnapping me. Unless you really wanted to tie me up, you naughty girl~"

"Let me stop you right there, you are absolutely not my type. I just didn't want to take any chances, given the fact that you can't say no to this proposition."

"Huh? Well then, it's not a proposition, it's blackmail."

"Call it how you want, I'm still proposing you something. It's just that the only answer I'm expecting from you is a yes."

"Then blackmail. Gotcha."

"Gosh, you're so annoying."

"Sorry! Well, what is this 'proposition'?"

Nio sighed before she came closer to Otoya, smirking.

"You said I was part of an organization, right? Well, you were right. I want you to join us, I have a job for you. Become one of our assassins, you'll kill under our orders and even get paid for it. Earning money for something you enjoy, it should certainly be something you dreamed of."

Otoya took the time to think about it. Sure, getting paid for killing sounded nice, she wouldn't say no to some extra money. But something was bothering her with this offer.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to refuse. I don't kill for money, I kill whoever I want for my own benefit, for my own pleasure. It's my art, I can't just go around murdering anyone, it would have no meaning. I don't like killing without meaning. So I can't accept your offer," Otoya said.

Nio's gaze suddenly became truly gloomy, her face emotionless as she recoiled a little.

"I told you that you couldn't say no to this proposition," Nio said coldly.

"Well I just did. Watcha gonna do 'bout that?" Otoya asked arrogantly.

Nio didn't reply at first, instead, she drew a gun and pointed it at Otoya's head.

"There are only two options for this proposition. Accept, or die," Nio said.

Otoya remained quiet for a moment. She may have no fear, there was something she was always trying to avoid at any cost, probably out of survival instinct: death. A smirk appeared on Otoya's lips as she finally gave her answer.

"Well, with that kind of argument I can't refuse. When do we start?"

* * *

Shiena repressed a yawn as she stopped typing for a moment. Paperwork sure was boring, but it was part of her new job. She had to make a report about yesterday's incident, detailed and explaining all that happened and her decisions. Shiena was a little bit worried. She did leave the witness' side while she was ordered to watch over him, she was afraid that she might get into trouble. But as Chitaru said, if she had stayed she would have probably been killed too. If their boss really viewed her as valuable alive, then she will probably not be too mad about Shiena disobeying an order. That was what she hoped for.

Shiena noticed the time. It was 12pm, lunchtime. Shiena saved her report and closed it, before stretching as she rose up, ready to go eat. She was starving.

"Shiena-chan, wanna come to eat with me?"

She turned back to discover one of her coworkers.

"Oh, Ichinose… yeah sure, why not. I wanted to try this small café down the street."

"Ah, it's a really good one, I go there almost every day! Let's go together!"

Shiena simply nodded as she followed Haru and they both left the office, heading for the café. Shiena remained a little bit on her guard. Haru may look nice and friendly, it could be a ruse. So many people she met pretended to be nice and ended up being bullies. She simply couldn't trust anyone, especially not a pretty girl. Not that Haru was particularly her type, but (Shiena looked sideways quickly and glanced at Haru's chest) she did have a nice bosom. At least bigger than hers.

They arrived in the café and ordered their food. Haru got a ham sandwich with a strawberry frappé, while Shiena got a hamburger with a regular coffee. They both sat a table in a corner, starting to eat there lunch.

"So, do you like it at AKA?" Haru asked.

"Uh… yeah. A little bit more violent than I thought, but I suppose I should have expected it. We're tracking serial killers after all."

"Not to sound rude, but you don't really strike me as a special agent."

"Well, you neither."

"Ah, well I technically am not an agent, I'm merely Tokaku-san's assistant."

"I see. Well, if we're being technical, I'm not really an agent either. I'm a specialist… apparently."

"Yeah I know! About serial killers and female psychopaths, right?"

"Well, if Namatame said I was, then it must be true."

"That's so awesome! You must be really smart."

Shiena took a sip of her coffee. Haru seemed sympathetic, she was cheery and cute, yet Shiena wasn't sure if she could trust her, let alone be her friend. She never really get along with girls of her age or just girls in general. And men. Well, in fact, she never really get along with anyone. She was an outcast, nobody really liked her, she didn't see why it would suddenly change.

"Then, why did you choose to join AKA?" Haru suddenly asked.

"Hm, Namatame is the one who asked me to join. But I suppose I accepted because… I'm fascinated by serial killers, especially female ones, and I wanted to use my passion for the greater good. What about you, why working here? You look more suitable for a… you know, more positive kind of job."

"But, working as an assistant for a special agent is positive! I'm helping Tokaku-san catch dangerous criminals that endanger innocent people. I guess that I'm here because I want to help people, and for the greater good too. I actually studied to be a secretary and was first hired at AKA as one, but then I was asked to be Tokaku-san's personal assistant. Not that I can complain, I love working with Tokaku-san."

Shiena noticed that each time Haru pronounced Tokaku's name, she blushed a little.

"Do you like Azuma or something?" Shiena suddenly asked bluntly.

Haru suddenly blushed even more.

"I… I do appreciate working with her. She's just… so cool, don't you think so?" Haru replied, flustered.

'Cool' wouldn't be the adjective Shiena used to describe Tokaku. 'Asocial', 'cold' and even 'scary' seemed like a better description. But obviously she couldn't tell that to Haru, it didn't seem right to insult someone's crush.

"I suppose she is," Shiena simply replied, taking a bite of her lunch.

"And you, is there someone you like?"

Shiena nearly choked on her hamburger. Someone she liked… She suddenly thought about Chitaru. Shiena felt her cheeks becoming warmer at that thought and tried to chase the red-haired girl out of her mind.

"Aww, you're all red. Could you be thinking about Jackie?"

This time, Shiena felt her heart skipping a beat.

"Jackie… ?"

"I mean, you nicknamed them that way, it's a really cute nickname. It almost feels like you have a crush on them or something," Haru said. "A forbidden romance, worthy of a love movie."

"Don't… don't be ridiculous, Jackie is our enemy. We're tracking her down…"

"I know, don't worry I was just joking. That would be terrible if you actually like them. You might even, you know, start covering for them or something," Haru joked.

Realizing that it was a joke, Shiena forced herself to laugh. But she didn't find it really funny. Her, liking Jack? What a distasteful joke. As if she would like a psychopathic killer who sadistically tortured and murdered so many innocent women. She might be fascinated by Jack, but never she would love her. Never.

They finished their respective lunch and went back to work, Shiena still troubled by her feelings for both Chitaru and Jack.

* * *

Otoya let herself fell on her bed, before letting out a deep sight. Today had been an exhausting day. Complicated murder that didn't bring her any pleasure, getting kidnapped, threatened and blackmailed. Not quite what she would call an ideal day. But in the end, maybe it wasn't so bad. She would get paid doing something she liked, sure she had now a collar around her neck, but it didn't mean she couldn't have some fun out of this situation.

She stretched her arm, holding something in front of her face. It was a picture Nio gave her. While looking at it, Otoya remembered her conversation with her new comrade.

_Earlier..._

Otoya rubbed her wrists, sore after being so tightly tied up. At least she was free now, well physically. She could feel a tight imaginary collar around her neck, with an equally imaginary leash held by Nio. She basically agreed to become a hunting dog, barking and biting at its master's command. Wasn't it what a hitman basically was? Well, it will be her life for now, so better just accept it and try to get something out of it.

"Let me explain to you what will be your job and what we're expecting of you," Nio began to say. "Your targets will be beautiful women-"

"Whew, I was worried I might be forced to kill men. What a relief!"

"... as I was saying, your targets will be beautiful women. Don't get me wrong, it's not to please you. We're simply being logical and using you at your best potential. You see, it's a little bothersome when the police know our murders were actually assassinations, they start trying to find our clients and it's in our policy to be discreet and assure anonymity for our customers. But what if instead of assassinations, those murders were simply the work of a maniac? The police wouldn't look for a client, only the crazy killer who did this. And this is where you became relevant."

As she understood what Nio meant, Otoya suddenly grinned madly.

"And I suppose I'm the maniac you're looking for. Not sure if I like to be called a crazy killer," Otoya replied.

"In people's eyes, you're nothing more than a psycho, a deranged murderer. Well, I suppose it's partially true. Anyway, you're right. If some of our targets got killed by the infamous Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century in her usual modus operandi, then the police won't suspect that those murders were actually commissioned. They wouldn't look for potential clients, only you. The best way to protect our customers. So please, be as cruel and sadistic as you are and enjoy killing your targets, and you'll be highly paid."

Otoya was still grinning. Getting paid for killing beautiful women and taking pleasure into it, it definitely didn't sound so bad after all. The mental collar was a little bit uncomfortable, but she'll get used to it. Money will make her forget.

"You can return home, we'll contact you for your first mission… Wait, I almost forget. Take a look at this."

Nio handed her a picture. Otoya took it and looked at it. It was a picture of a young woman with fluffy brown hair, dull brown eyes and glasses, sitting in stairs with a blanket around her shoulder and holding a cup. A witness? Anyway, she must have been photographed by surprise, this picture wasn't at her advantage at all. A really plain girl that Otoya wouldn't bother looking at in the street.

"Who is she?" Otoya asked with total disinterest.

"Kenmochi Shiena, the new member of AKA."

"AKA?"

"Anti-Killers Agency. Stupid name, I know. They track down killers as their name suggest, they got some of our assassins on their hunting list. And they're looking for you too, so be careful. This new member, Kenmochi, she got hired especially to track you down. She profiled you pretty well, they know more about you, so I would suggest you to cover your tracks better. At least they don't seem to suspect you for the murder of the witness."

Suddenly, Otoya got more interested. This bland girl was tracking her? A hunting dog hunting down another hunting dog. That could be quite interesting, Otoya's curiosity and desire to play had been stirred.

"Here's a gift before you leave, to help you fix your mistake and mess up with those bastards," Nio said as she handed a recorder to Otoya. "Put it to good use!"

_Back to the present time..._

Otoya continued to gaze at the picture, intrigued as she brushed the girl's face with the tips of her fingers.

"_Kenmochi Shiena… who are you and what do you want from me?_"

Otoya chuckled at that thought. She heard those words so many times from her victims. It looked like this time, she was the prey. A little reversal from time to time could be interesting. But anyway, whoever this girl was, she probably had no interest in her. Just a 'cop' doing her job, trying to catch the dangerous criminal she was. Still, Otoya couldn't help but be stirred.

In her other hand she was holding the recorder Nio gave her as a gift. Otoya hadn't listened to it yet, apparently it was relevant to the investigation regarding her and could help her outsmart AKA. She was really curious to listen to it, she couldn't wait anymore. She pressed the button and a voice came out of it.

_"E-Everyone, I… I have been hired to help you regarding the case of Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century. So I prepared you a little slideshow to help you understand what kind of killer they are."_

Otoya guessed that it must this girl, Kenmochi Shiena. Despite her rather bland appearance, she did have a cute voice. The kind of voice she would like to hear cry and scream, or simply bullied. She sounded so nervous and uncertain, there was no doubt that this girl was bullied in her past. What she said really caught Otoya's curiosity. Help them understand what kind of killer she was? Otoya looked forward to hearing that.

_"Jack the Ripper is most likely really high on the psychopathic scale," _well it barely started and she was already putting in her a box like all those specialists were so fond of, but go on, "_... Psychopaths often wear what we call a 'mask' to appear normal, they fake most of their personality to fit in society, they are social predators who manipulate and deceive people on a daily basis. Even if most of them aren't dangerous per se, most serial killers are psychopaths-"_

Well, it wasn't like Otoya could deny any of that, but all of this just sounds so academic and medical. Some guy interrupted Shiena, but Otoya didn't bother to listen. She was only interested in what this girl had to say.

"_... the killer is leaving us messages with the flowers, they are toying with us… They deceive women and kill them in their own house, and then play with the cops. It's all just a game for them, like the world was their own personal playground and everyone their toys."_

Otoya smirked. That was getting better, this girl was right. The world was her playground, and everyone was her toys. She could play with them the way she wanted, including the cops. She was having so much fun fooling and deceiving them. Maybe this girl really gets her after all.

_"According to my analysis, Jackie must be in their twenties, probably charismatic and charming, Japanese, appearing friendly and approachable, with a troublesome relationship with their parents, probably their mother…"_

Otoya took a pause. Her mother… This word brought back some nostalgic memories, before leaving a bitter aftertaste. This girl was venturing into a dangerous territory… wait, how did she call her?

_"W-Well, I mean, since Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century is pretty long, I thought to shorten it, and I felt like Jack wasn't appropriate since she's a woman, so I thought about Jackie…"_

Jackie… a nickname for an already existing nickname. Otoya had to admit, it did sound cute. She could feel some… love, behind it. As if this girl really cared about her. How adorable. Something else caught her attention. She thought she was a woman… well, she was right. Otoya wasn't sure if she liked that. To know that a secret agency such as AKA knew her gender could be problematic, but at the same time, she was somewhat happy that someone found out that she was a woman, that someone was enough interested in her to realize that. She wanted to hear more.

_"I won't deny that those murders were for some sort of sexual gratification, but it doesn't mean those are the work of a man. Jackie could be a lesbian..."_

Otoya chuckled at that thought. Of course she was. Was this girl gay too? This was truly starting to get interesting.

_"We can't deny that those murders were sexual, the killer was most likely having sex with some of the victims before killing them. And yet, we didn't find any sperm inside the victims, or on them."_

Was it one of the mistakes Nio mentioned? Regardless, it did give her an idea of how to mess with AKA, especially this girl.

"_We can assume that the killer and the victims didn't know each other for long, making it even weirder for them to trust a stranger man like that. Women are more likely to trust another woman quickly than a man, so it seems more likely that all those women got deceived by a woman…"_

What a smartass. Not that she was wrong. Being a female serial killer sure came with some privileges, privileges that Otoya was surely enjoying. Otoya was glad that she was a woman, it would have probably been harder for her to do what she did as a man. And she surely enjoyed being a lesbian.

Otoya listened to more of the tape, Shiena was talking about clothes disappearing. So she noticed that too… she was clearly more bright that she sounded like. Not someone she should underestimate.

She winced a little when she heard one of the guys call her sloppy. That just reminded her of Nio.

"_She's an arrogant and narcissistic woman who hides behind a charming and friendly persona."_

Not that Otoya appreciated those adjectives to describe her, but the second part was true.

"_She thinks she's above the law, that she can't be caught, she has such arrogant confidence in herself and probably enjoyed all the emotions she's causing with her murders, it wouldn't be surprising she watches the news after."_

Otoya giggled. True, it was all true. Gosh, it felt so good to have someone who understood her so well. She was even starting to feel warm at her center.

"_She likes that people talk about her crimes, it gives her validation, she's an attention seeker, her murders are always flamboyant. And that little flower she had in the victims' hair, it's like she was signing… her work, her art, as if those murders were nothing more than flower arrangements for her. She probably views herself as an artist and takes great pride in her murders."_

Ah, that felt so great. Finally, someone who gets that she was actually an artist, a florist, and that her murders were nothing more than art. Slowly, she stroked her thigh, heading for her crotch.

"_But no, she's not sloppy, she actually never left any significant clues about her identity, only fingerprints, and as I said, she's too arrogant to think she'll be caught. The fingerprints have been checked, she has no criminal records. She cleans a little after her crimes, enough to cover her traces."_

Otoya reached her center and started rubbing it, feeling more and more turned on by this tape, from hearing this girl talk about her so passionately.

"_But her arrogance is her weakness, this is what will get her caught."_

Huh? Otoya suddenly stopped. What did she just say?

"_She's smart, but not that smart."_

Otoya remained stoic for a moment before a twisted grin appeared on her lips.

"You little bitch… you're playing with fire right now."

Otoya suddenly dropped the recorder on the bed and rose up, still holding the picture. She grabbed some scotch tape and glued the picture on the wall. Otoya stared at it for a moment, before licking her lips.

This girl wasn't just a cop, she was genuinely interested in her. Passion, love, obsession? It didn't matter. Otoya was simply enjoying the attention she was getting, she wanted this girl to think about her, dream about her, and play with her.

Otoya cackled. She'll show her how smart she truly is, how smarter than her she was. She'll play this little game of cat and mouse with her, but in the end, she won't be the mouse. She was the cat. Hopefully, this girl will be an interesting opponent.

She brushed the girl's face with her thumb, smiling in such a perverse way. She found herself a new toy to play with.

"Let's have a lot of fun together, Shiena-chan~"

* * *

**Writing Otoya and Nio's interactions is so fun and interesting. Shiena and Haru could be an interesting duo too.**

**Shiena, you better run.**

**Hopefully, you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it, and I'll possibly update this fic more regularly. Seeya next time! **


	4. Black Guild

**Warning: minor sexual content.**

* * *

Shiena repressed a yawn as she walked toward her workplace. She didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Her dreams were invaded by nightmares, she kept seeing corpse and blood right when she closed her eyes. Her last dream she remembered was a room full of dead bodies, the wall covered in crimson splashes, a solitary woman covered in blood standing in the middle of this massacre.

She was tall, with a generous bosom, and long black hair. Despite the terror she was feeling, Shiena had stepped closer to her, enough to touch her shoulder. The killer had turned back, but Shiena couldn't see her face. She was wearing a mask representing a smiling face. All Shiena wanted to do was to remove that mask, discover her identity, see what kind of person she was, see who was hiding being that happy smile. She had stretched an arm to grab her mask, but before she could remove it, the killer had stabbed her, causing Shiena to wake up in a jolt.

Shiena sighed. Despite her fascination for Jack, it was the first time she dreamed about her. Well, Shiena assumed it was her. Tall, big breasts, and black long hair like that woman who visited the witness. Shiena was convinced that she was Jack. But since she didn't know what she looked like, she imagined her with a smiling mask. Anyway, this is how she pictured Jack, as a smiling woman, hiding her true rotten self behind a pretty smile. Shiena yawned again, wondering if she would ever discover Jack's true identity.

"Tired?"

Shiena jumped and turned back. Haru was smiling at her, with Tokaku by her side who looked as cold and stoic as usual.

"Oh, Ichinose… and Azuma," Shiena said. "Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"You know what they say, when you can't sleep, it's because someone is dreaming about you," Haru said cheerfully.

"Someone… dreaming about me? Ah, as if someone would care enough for that," Shiena said with a smile hiding her self-loathe.

"Aww, don't say that! You're pretty cute, I'm sure a lot of people would think about you," Haru replied.

Shiena didn't comment anything to that, simply forcing herself to smile. Haru was a typical girl, complimenting someone of the same gender simply out of politeness, it was how girls bond after all. Shiena knew she must be lying and simply say that to be nice. After all, she wasn't cute or pretty, not that she considered herself ugly either. She was just normal, ordinary, bland and plain. Someone nobody would bother looking at in the street, getting looked at was the privilege of pretty people and the curse of ugly people. People like her were simply ignored, which she was totally fine with. She had no interest in going through what she went through in high school again.

"Let's walk to work together!" Haru suddenly proposed.

"Sure," Shiena agreed.

Haru smiled happily and walked beside Shiena, while Tokaku remained behind them, silent. Shiena felt a little bit uncomfortable with Tokaku behind her, she could almost feel her cold stare.

They arrived at the office and headed for their desk, but before she could reach hers Shiena was intercepted by Chitaru.

"Good morning, Kenmochi," Chitaru said.

"Ah, good morning, Namatame."

"The boss wants to see you."

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. Her boss wanted to see her? Why? Did she do anything wrong? It was with a worried state of mind that Shiena headed for the boss' office, before nervously knocking at the door.

"Come in."

Shiena took a deep breath to calm herself, before opening the door and stepping inside. Sumireko was sitting at her desk, reading some paperwork, with her secretary by her side. She raised her head to look at Shiena and smiled.

"Oh, Kenmochi-san. Come here and sit, do not be shy. Banba-san, could you serve us tea please?"

"Ah, y-yes!" Banba said as she put two cups on the desk, pouring tea inside.

Shiena sat in front of Sumireko, taking a look at her cup. It looked like black tea. Her boss took a sip of her tea, looking satisfied with the taste. Shiena did the same, but she wasn't really fond of tea, she preferred coffee. But she still drank it, out of politeness.

"I read your report regarding the incident with the witness," Sumireko began to say. "According to yours, you left the witness' side even though Namatame-san asked you to stay."

A cold sweat rolled from Shiena's forehead. So that was it, what happened the other day. Shiena had a feeling it would come back to bite her.

"Y-Yeah… the witness told me something important and I had to inform Namatame. I'm sorry… for disobeying orders."

"No need to apologize, after all, if you had stayed you would have most likely been killed too. Not that a caution disobeying, but perhaps it was your instinct who told you to leave. Regardless, you are more valuable to us alive than dead, so I am glad you did that. After all, if you get killed, we would not be able to enjoy your talents anymore."

Shiena sighed with relief. So Sumireko wasn't mad at her for disobeying. Chitaru was right, people were glad that she was alive. But still, she realized how close she had been to die. If she had stayed in the room only for a few more seconds, she would have been killed. This thought sent a chill down her spine. This job was more dangerous than she thought. But still, she couldn't help but think that if she had stayed, she would have at least see Jack's face.

"So, from what I read, the witness confirmed that Jack the Ripper is a woman by talking about her breasts," Sumireko continued.

"Ah, yes! I think it does confirm my suspicion, Jackie is a woman-"

Sumireko suddenly chuckled.

"What a cute nickname for a serial killer."

"Ah… no… I just wanted to make her name look more feminine," Shiena tried to explain, embarrassed.

"Worry not, I was only teasing you. Anyway, I think we can now start to consider Jack the Ripper as a woman, good job Kenmochi-san."

"No… no need to thank me, I… I was only doing my job."

"So modest. Then I will not take any more of your time, you can go back to work."

"Yes, I… I will! Thank you… for your trust."

Shiena quickly finished her tea and rose up, bowed in respect and left Sumireko's office, going back to work, relieved that everything went for the best.

* * *

"Have you check my gift?" Nio asked.

"Yes, I listened to it multiple times, even touched myself while doing so," Otoya replied with a smirk.

"... I didn't need to know that."

Otoya giggled, while Nio sighed with exasperation. They were both walking in a corridor, Nio leading her to her organization's secret base. Otoya couldn't deny that she was a little bit hype about this, especially to meet her new colleague. She was somewhat curious about them.

"Oh, before we arrived, I have something to ask you. Don't call me Hashiri or Nio there. Call me Kuzunoha."

"Eh? Why's that?"

"Most people there use fake names. We just don't want others to get involved in our life outside the assassin business, ya know. So call me Kuzunoha when we're there."

"Fine, I will. I suppose I'll need a cool nickname too."

They reached a door and Nio opened it, letting Otoya entered first. Otoya stepped inside a moderate-sized room, with a couple of people inside. They all looked at her and Otoya was enjoying the attention. She gave them her best smile and waved at them.

"Hello everyone!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully.

People looked at her weirdly and then glanced at each other. Hm, not the friendliest people around. Probably expected from a bunch of assassins. But still, it wasn't because they kill people that they had to be so gloomy.

"Sorry, I think her mother dropped her too many times when she was a baby, she must have brain damage," Nio said.

"Seems legit," a woman replied.

Otoya looked at that woman. At first glance, she seemed really tall, but Otoya noticed that it was only because of her high heels. She had long pink hair and revealing clothes showing her big breasts. Otoya glanced at those with interest, wanting to leave some cut on them.

"Welcome to Black Guild!" told her a redhead girl with a wide smile.

Finally someone friendly here! She was a rather tomboy girl, yet still fashionable. Not really her type, but still pleasant to look at. Otoya felt like she could be 'friend' with that one.

Otoya looked at the rest of the group. Including herself and Nio, they were six in the room. There were the pink-haired girl and the redhead, as well as another woman with black hair tied up in a side ponytail, with a rather prude outfit. She was adjusting her glasses, looking all serious and professional. She looked so uptight like she had a stick up her ass. Not really Otoya's type, but she would gladly make her her prey just to get some interesting expressions out of her.

The last person was also a woman, in the back of the room, leaning against the wall. She looked pretty laid back, she had short light blue hair and was dressed in an old-fashioned way. She was showing a sly smile, looking at her with curiosity in her golden eyes. She was rather small, but not in a childish way, she was curvy like an adult.

Out of everyone, only the pink-haired and the blue-haired were her types. Not that she intended to kill them, that would be pretty rude to murder her colleagues right after joining.

"How can we call you?" the redhead asked. "You can call me Pocky!"

What a ridiculous nickname. Otoya took the time to think about it. She already had a nickname as a serial killer, but it was pretty long and perhaps it would be better if they don't know about it. She then remembered the tape and smiled to herself.

"Call me Jackie~"

"Oh, what a cute nickname," the golden-eyed girl said with amusement. "People call me Obaa-chan here, feel free to do so too."

Granny? What a strange nickname for a young woman, maybe it was because of her fashion sense? Or was she particularly wise and mature? It only made Otoya more interested in her.

"You may call me Leader," the black-haired woman said seriously.

"For the last time, nobody is going to call you that," Nio replied.

"... fine. Just Sister then."

Otoya was left thoughtful. It wasn't onee-san as in siblings, it was sister as a nun. Was this girl religious? Surprising for an assassin. But it did add to her prude vibe.

"I'm Isuke," the pink-haired girl said.

"Oh, nice nickname! With a male alias, you can hide your true gender, right?" Otoya said.

"... It's my real name."

"Ah… isn't it dangerous to use your real name?" Otoya asked.

"Hmph, my name is too cool for me to use an alias. Anyway, without my surname, it's not like you can find out who I am outside this group," Isuke replied.

"Hm, you're right."

So it was Kuzunoha, Pocky, Obaa-chan, Sister, Isuke and herself, Jackie. What an interesting team. Black Guild was how Pocky called it, interesting name. Perfect for a group of assassins.

"So, what are your methods of assassination?" Otoya asked with an innocent smile as if there was nothing wrong with that question.

"As clean as possible. I hate to see blood or hear people scream. I kill in the smart way, drowning people after they been drugged or strangling them is the best way~" Isuke replied.

So basically the opposite of Otoya. A professional hitman.

"Isn't it a grisly question?" Pocky reacted, a little bit uncomfortable. "I just… strangle them, or break their neck."

This girl looked like she had a conscience or something. Definitely someone she could manipulate.

"I either use bombs or guns," Sister answered. "Something quick and painless."

Another sensible one, but she looked more cold-blooded than Pocky.

"I prefer to keep my methods secret," Obaa-chan said with a mysterious smile.

Hm, it was making Otoya curious. She really wondered how this girl kills, probably in some original and creative way.

"What about you, Jackie?" Isuke asked.

"Oh, you know, stabbing and stuff. The usual," Otoya replied with a smile.

"Hm, so unprofessional and dirty. You should consider guns at least," Isuke reprimanded her.

"Guns are so cold, it lacks intimacy. Sci- I mean, knives, are much more intimate~" Otoya said.

"Huh, why would you want it to be intimate? It's murder, not sex," Pocky replied, confused.

Otoya remained quiet for a moment. She made a mistake. Those people were hitmen, they saw murder as nothing more than a job, not a hobby. If she wanted to fit in the group, she had to pretend to be like them.

"I just feel like it's more personal, I take my job really seriously. This way I can be close to the target and be sure they are really dead and be sure I won't miss them," Otoya explained.

"That must still be a pain to clean all this mess. Damn, all the blood..." Isuke commented.

"I like cleaning, so it's not much of a problem to me," Otoya lied with a shameless smile.

"You're a weird one," Isuke said.

"Cleaning can be relaxing sometimes. Washing the dishes always soothe my mood," Obaa-chan said.

"You're also a weird one," Isuke added.

Otoya laughed in such a natural way. She needed to look calm, relaxed, as if she was only there for the job. Just like an ordinary hitman.

"Anyway, it's time to give you your next target," Nio said, giving to each of them an envelope. "Each of you has a target, I want them dead before the end of the week. It's useless to tell you to leave no trace and make it the cleanness as possible."

Everyone looked at the picture in their envelope. For Otoya, it was the picture of a rather beautiful woman, which pleased her. Getting paid to kill such a beauty, it wasn't so bad after all. There was also a file, about the target.

"Good luck everyone, you're all free to go," Nio said as she exited the room.

Otoya put back the picture in the envelope, trying to hide her lustful smile. Decidedly, this job was going to be much fun. She remembered Nio's warning about covering her tracks and what this girl said about her on the tape. She knew exactly what she had left to do.

She couldn't wait to mess with Shiena.

* * *

"Shiena-chan, wait for me!"

Shiena stopped walking, holding a cup of coffee. She turned back to see Haru walking towards her, waving at her, with her usual bright smile.

"Let's go walk home together!" Haru proposed cheerfully.

"... sure. But I'm living in the north district."

"Ah, I'm living in the west, but for now it's in the same direction, so let's walk what we can together."

Shiena nodded and continued walking, Haru by her side.

"Oh, coffee? You passed by the café?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, today was tiresome, I needed some caffeine to go back home," Shiena replied.

"It's finally the weekend! What have you planned to do?"

"Hm? Nothing… just gonna chill on my computer, as usual."

"You're not going to see any friends? Family members?"

"I… don't really have friends. Only people I talk to online. As for my family… I'm not close to any of them."

Haru suddenly had a sad expression on her face.

"Oh… so you didn't keep in touch with any of your classmates?" Haru asked.

"I… didn't have any friends in high school, other than my online group."

"Still, don't you feel lonely?"

"Not really. As I said, there are people I talk to online."

"But that's not the same as hanging out with someone in real life! You can't go shopping or eat in a restaurant with people online."

"Doesn't matter, I'm only interested in talking."

"Hm… well, we're friends, aren't we?"

Shiena didn't answer right away. She didn't really view Haru as a friend. After all, she barely knew her. And she stroked her as the popular type, the type of girl who was a social butterfly at school. Haru must have plenty of high school friends with whom she regularly hung out.

"Why do you want to be friends with me?" Shiena asked. "Surely you must already have plenty of friends."

"There's nothing wrong with having more friends. I just think you look nice, and there are not many girls of my age in AKA. It's hard to make friends there."

Shiena understood. Haru wasn't really interested in her as a person, she was merely attracted to her because of her gender and age. She was looking for someone similar to her to gain friendship. Something typical for people, nothing surprising. If there was more young women in AKA, Haru would have probably never bothered talking to her. Shiena wasn't interested in being friends with someone like that, but at the same time, it was probably for the best for her to have someone on who she could rely on at her workplace.

"I see. Sure, let's be friends," Shiena agreed with a smile. She was good a theater so faking a smile was easy for her.

Haru smiled happily and Shiena felt a little bit bad, feeling like she was deceiving her. But she comforted herself by telling herself that Haru was probably deceiving her too and using her simply to not feel alone. It was a mutually pragmatic relationship where both parties were using the other for their own benefit. Wasn't it like any relationship? Everyone kept using each other as if they were nothing more than tools. Shiena couldn't help but smirk.

"_I'm starting to think like a psychopath…_"

This world, this society, was pretty psychopathic. People were treated as tools and only viewed for their utility, without a single drop of empathy. Yet most people like their current society, we could even say it was charismatic in a way. Empty, fake, inhumane yet charming, just like a psychopath. Just like Jack.

"So, how did you meet those online friends?" Haru suddenly asked.

"Oh, well I wouldn't call them friends… I met them in high school. It's a group called Collective Dismissal, just an online group for… introverted people with passion. But I'm not really talking to them anymore, I got busy with my job."

"Oh, I see… quite a strange name though."

Shiena didn't reply anything to that. She couldn't tell her that it was a group for outcasts, people bullied by society, a bunch of dropouts. Nerds and geeks. If she told the truth to Haru, she would have thought of her as an otaku, which wouldn't be good for her reputation. This is where she learned how to hack, most members were hackers who were mixed with illegal activities. Reasons why Shiena chose to distance herself from them since she wanted to follow the law. She was mainly using her hacking skills to help people, but it wasn't like she never committed any crimes. After all, she hacked the police simply to learn more about Jack. But other than that, she was pretty clean.

Shiena suddenly sneezed.

"Someone is thinking about you!" Haru declared.

"Huh, who would be thinking about me?"

"Jackie maybe."

Shiena remained quiet. What an ominous statement. Haru was smiling happily as if it was just a playful joke, but that would actually be terrible if Jack was thinking about her. Or would it really be?

"We should hang out outside work," Haru proposed. "I have a really good friend I would like to introduce you. She's so sweet and cute, I'm sure you would get along."

"Hm… maybe someday," Shiena replied, uncertain.

They arrived at an intersection.

"I'm going right," Shiena said.

"Oh, I go left. Well then, this is where our paths diverge. See you Monday, have a great evening and weekend!" Haru exclaimed.

"Thanks, you too."

Haru walked away, going left. Shiena sighed, taking a sip of her coffee as she went right, continuing her way to her home, thinking about her new friendship with her coworker while wondering what Jack was doing right now.

* * *

Otoya was wondering what Shiena was doing right now. It was pretty late, so perhaps she was already asleep. Maybe touching herself? Otoya smirked. It would be nice if she was masturbating while thinking about her. Otoya would feel touched by such a gesture. To be on someone's mind when they pleasure themselves was exciting. Well, if it was a man she wouldn't care, but Shiena was a woman. She always appreciated being lust over by another woman.

Speaking of woman, Otoya was currently with one, holding hands while heading for her house. Otoya usually never invited women to her house, but this one was special. She was useful for another reason than simply pleasure. She wasn't a prey nor a target, she was a tool. A fancy little tool that will help her achieve her goal, which was to mess with Shiena and AKA.

Otoya met her in a gay bar, really popular with sexual and gender minorities. The perfect place for her to meet a woman who could give her what she needed. When they arrived at her house, Otoya led the woman to her bedroom, closing the door behind them. The woman looked nervous, so Otoya gently stroke her cheek.

"Scared?" Otoya asked softly.

"A little… It's the first time that… a woman wants to do this with me. I'm not… transitioned yet, I haven't even started hormones, I still have a-"

"It doesn't matter, you're a woman regardless," Otoya said sweetly, yet grinning mentally. "_This is exactly why I chose you._" she thought.

Otoya needed something, and there was no way she would ask a man for that. She had no interest in having sex with a man. But this person was a woman. Not exactly Otoya's type, but still beautiful. Not that it mattered, she wasn't going to kill her. Just take something from her.

"You're pretty," Otoya complimented her, making her blushed, before she kissed her.

Otoya didn't lose any time and started undressing her while pushing her towards her bed. As she continued to make out with her, Otoya grabbed something on her nightstand, a condom. She removed her t-shirt, leaving her topless, as she started to pull down the woman's skirt.

Otoya smiled to herself, mentally picturing Shiena's face when she'll have put in action her plan, wishing she could be there to see her collapsed as her theory was destroyed.

Unless Shiena saw through her ploy. If it was the case, then she would earn Otoya's respect and would definitely deserve a reward. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"_Show me Shiena-chan, show me how smart you are and how much you know me. If you can't solve that riddle, I'll have to punish you~_"

* * *

**New characters introduced, I believe you can easily guess who they are.**

**What has Otoya planned? Let me know what you think! Seeya next week.**


	5. The Promise

**warning: emeto, graphic description of corpse, sexual theme, implied bigotry.**

* * *

The car was driving fast, making it usual siren noises typical of a police car. Shiena was looking through the window, hitting her own thighs nervously with her fingers. Chitaru was driving the car with Tokaku next to her, Shiena being on the back seat. A new murder occurred and they have been called to investigate. After seeing those three corpses, Shiena wasn't sure if she was ready to see another one. And if the culprit was who she thought it was, then the corpse she was about to see must be even worse.

The car stopped in front of a rather large house that gave of a bourgeois vibe. Multiple police cars were parked all around the house. Shiena spotted an ambulance and the coroner's car too. Chitaru and Tokaku got out of the car and Shiena followed them, heading for the house. On their way, they saw a lot of cops and some analysis. Shiena's heart was beating faster and faster the more she got closer to the crime scene. She knew that was what awaiting her was a sight of true horror that will haunt her and give her nightmares, but part of her was also somewhat… excited. It was the first time she could see from her own eyes one of her murder, one that is personal. Shiena saw pictures by hacking the police, but she never witnessed her actual crime scene. She felt like seeing it will bring her closer to the object of her fascination and will help her understand who she was.

They finally reached the room, the bedroom. As expected, she was welcomed by an awful sight that made her froze in the doorframe. Saying that the scene was bloody would be an understatement. It was a true bloodbath, just like a carnage. That bloody thing on the bed… was that even human? It has a humanoid shape, so Shiena assumed it used to be human. The corpse was covered by so many deep cuts and was ripped opened, the guts displayed. Shiena felt like she was going to get sick. Tokaku remained stoic, like she was used to this, but Shiena noticed that her fist was clenched. Chitaru, on the other hand, looked horrified, and also angry.

"What is wrong with that bastard… !" Chitaru said between her teeth.

"No doubt, that's the ripper," Tokaku said.

Slowly, Shiena approached the corpse. It was just like all the pictures she saw, but this time, it felt more real. Obviously, since someone was lying dead right in front of her. Those mutilations, the corpse ripped off and the victim almost naked, this act of sexual deviancy, there was no doubt. It was Jack's doing.

"This is… Jackie did it," Shiena said weakly.

"Kenmochi… no need to force yourself to see, you can leave," Chitaru said.

"No…! I… I want to stay. I'm an agent too, my job is to find out who she is, so I have to stay," Shiena said, trying to look confident.

"Very well."

Despite her brave words, Shiena's was really starting to feel nauseous. Despite her repulsion, she looked at the victim's face. It was stuck in a horrible expression of pain and agony, with still fresh tears in her eyes. Poor woman, what an awful way to die. Shiena felt terribly bad for her, as well as for her family and friends.

But at least she got to meet Jack before she died.

Shiena immediately chased away this thought, feeling deeply ashamed.

"_What is wrong with me, that woman got murdered horribly, who cares about Jackie?_"

"There are signs of effraction on the window," one of the analysis revealed.

Shiena was surprised. Signs of effraction? She didn't recall any instance where it happened. She found that detail extremely odd.

As she was about to go see the window, one of the cops suddenly stopped her.

"Careful, you're gonna step on it," the cop said.

"Step on what?" Shiena asked.

The cop gestured her to look down. Shiena lowered her head and saw something on the floor. Small, red, wet…

An organ.

Shiena didn't recognize which one it was, but it was the least of her worries. Her stomach was suddenly terribly upset and she knew what was going to happen.

"Where… where's the bathroom?" Shiena asked, trying to remain composed.

"Second door in the corridor," the cop answered.

"Thanks…"

Shiena immediately rushed outside the bedroom and headed for the bathroom. She lifted the toilet seat and couldn't hold it anymore, she threw up everything she had in her stomach.

After a while, she simply had nothing else to puke anymore. Shiena remained gasping for a moment before she grabbed some toilet paper to wipe her mouth. She winced, having this awful taste of vomit in her mouth. She flushed and recoiled until she reached a wall, and let herself slipped and sat on the floor. She hugged her knees, shivering. The image of the corpse wouldn't leave her mind, it will probably remain carved in her memory.

She heard a knocked at the door.

"Kenmochi? Are you alright?" Chitaru asked with concern in her voice.

"Y-Yeah… I just… felt a little bit sick."

"Do you need anything?"

"Huh… maybe some water."

"I'll get you a bottle, be right back."

Shiena sighed and ran a hand through her hair. What happened to that woman was simply horrible, the culprit was a true monster. There wasn't anything sympathetic with Jack, she had to be stopped no matter what before she made even more victims.

And Shiena was even more determined to put an end to her murderous acts.

* * *

When Shiena arrived at work in the morning, there was an agitated conversation near the agents' desks. From afar, Shiena recognized Sumireko, with at her side Banba and two male agents. Curious, Shiena stepped closer to eavesdrop.

"Do you know who this sperm belongs to?" Sumireko asked.

"We got it tested, but no result in the database," one of the agents replied. "Whoever it belongs to doesn't have a criminal record."

"But if we arrest a suspect we may be able to get a sample and compared with the sperm we found," the other agent said.

Shiena wondered what they were talking about. It couldn't be about Jack, it was most likely another case. Not interested, she was about to leave, but her eyes suddenly met with Sumireko's.

"Oh, Kenmochi-san, good timing. I wanted to talk with you, I want your opinion on something," her boss said.

Shiena, somewhat curious, joined Sumireko, while one of the agents looked at her with what appeared to be… contempt?

"We have the result for the latest Jack the Ripper's victim," Sumireko began, "but it seems to contradict your analysis."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shiena asked, worried.

"The medical examiner discovered sperm inside the victim's genitals," Sumireko revealed.

Shiena remained speechless. It took her a few seconds to process this new information. She simply couldn't accept it, it didn't make any sense. It must be some kind of mistake, but how? There must have a logical explanation, Shiena refused to believe this sperm belonged to Jack.

"That… can't be right…" Shiena began, "after all, Jackie is…"

"A woman?" one of the agents finished with mockery in his smile. "Obviously you were wrong, miss detective."

What was his problem? Why was he so rude? Did he dislike her or something? Shiena was used to people making fun of her, this guy was giving her the same vibe as those bullies who made high school hell for her. It made her feel extremely antipathetic towards that man.

"Yes, I firmly believe Jackie is a woman," Shiena replied dryly.

"Then explain how there was sperm inside the victim? Obviously the killer was a man," the agent replied arrogantly.

"The victim could have sex with a man before getting murdered," Shiena said.

"Huh… the victim was single and… the sperm was put post-mortem," the other agent said.

"That freak, he fucked a corpse."

Shiena remained quiet for a moment. Was there a second person, a man, who would have come after Jack killed that woman to have sex with the corpse? That seemed highly unlikely. Then how… Shiena tried to think about a logical explanation that wouldn't contradict her theory. She was convinced Jack was a woman and wouldn't change her mind.

"How about… Jackie wanted to trick us by making it look like it was the work of a man by putting sperm inside the victim after she killed her?" Shiena proposed.

"And how would 'she' have got that sperm huh?" the agent insisted.

"I don't know… somehow… maybe from a sperm bank?"

"As if they would give sperm to anyone! You're deluded."

"... Then she had sex with a man and managed to get some of his sperm."

"Didn't you say the killer was a lesbian?"

"Yeah, but she could have still had sex with a man if it was to achieve her goal."

"Hm… nah, that won't work. Her having sex with a man just put doubt on your theory of her being a lesbian. So unless you can find another way she could have got that sperm, I will continue to believe the killer is a man, and so will everyone else!"

Shiena clenched her teeth. What a detestable man. How was she supposed to prove that? Jack could have slept with a man, yet that guy refused to acknowledge that possibility. Though maybe he was right, maybe Jack wouldn't have slept with a man. Not because she was against the idea, but because she was prideful. She wouldn't stoop to have sex with a man if she had another option, and judging by her intelligence, she probably did. Shiena just had to prove she was smarter than her and find that option.

It suddenly came to her like a flash. Of course, why she didn't think about it sooner? It made so much sense. It had to be the truth.

"I know a way Jackie could have got that sperm without sleeping with a man," Shiena declared with a smirk.

"... how?" the agent replied, looking annoyed and somewhat worried.

"Easy. She slept with a trans woman," Shiena declared.

Silence. The two agents remind quiet, while Sumireko seemed to have a slight reaction to her deduction while Banba looked suddenly tensed.

"... what?" the agent replied.

"You heard me, I stand by my words. Jackie didn't sleep with a man but a trans woman, thus she could have got sperm from her."

"Hm… it seemed far-fetched, and highly improbable," the agent complained.

"You said to find an option, I did. I found a way she could have got sperm without sleeping with a man. Why are you so stubborn?"

"Because the killer is obviously a man! A female serial killer? Please, this is ridiculous. You're just projecting your own desire on the ripper."

"My… own desire?"

"I mean, you're obviously a homo, so you're fantasizing about some lesbian serial killer because it's your kink or something."

Shiena froze. She knew she should get mad, but deep down, she was thinking, maybe he was right… No, he was wrong. She had brought enough evidence that Jack was a woman, it couldn't be just out of her own desire. This guy was just an asshole.

"Please, could you avoid saying that kind of stuff?" Sumireko suddenly intervened calmly, yet with some ice in her voice.

"... sorry," the agent replied. "Anyway, I think the possibility that the killer is a man rather than a lesbian who slept with a trans woman to get sperm to trick us is way higher."

Put like that, it was true that it did sound more plausible. But that guy was completely disregarding everything she said during her presentation which made it more plausible for the killer to be a woman. Another possibility popped up in her mind that seemed possible.

"Then this murder could have been made by a male copycat," Shiena said. "Copycats are not unlikely, and unlike the other murders, this one was by effraction. Might be a sign that it's a different killer."

Despite how plausible this option was, it somehow bothered Shiena. But maybe it was the right thing to say to shut that annoying man up.

"Trans woman and now a copycat… what's next? The killer is actually trans?" the agent said sarcastically.

"Maybe she is. Would you have a problem with that? Damn, even Jackie is more open-minded than you…"

"... urgh…"

That sounded like… a sob. Shiena turned her head and discovered with shock that Banba was sobbing. She then ran away, much to Sumireko's concern.

"Mahiru-san!" Sumireko exclaimed like she was about to run after her.

"Hanabusa-san, the reunion is about to start," another employee suddenly said.

Sumireko clenched her fist with displeasing before she turned towards Shiena.

"Kenmochi-san, could you please go check on her?"

"I… sure," Shiena said.

She was confused about why Mahiru was upset, but she felt like it was somehow her fault. She glanced one last time at the annoying agent, before rushing where Mahiru had run away.

* * *

Shiena arrived in the corridor where the bathrooms where. No sign of Mahiru, yet Shiena was certain she saw her going in this direction. She must have hidden in the bathroom. Shiena rushed to the women's restroom, who seemed at first glance empty.

"...uu …"

What was that sound? It looked like a moan... no, a sob. Someone else was there. Shiena looked around and noticed that one of the cabin's door was closed and she got closer to it, still hearing the sobs. It seemed to be coming from that specific cabin. When she reached it Shiena remained still, hesitating a little, before she finally softly knocked.

"... Banba?"

The sobbing suddenly stopped, but Shiena received no answer.

"Are you okay?" Shiena asked.

She realized it was a dumb question. If Mahiru was locked down in a toilet cabin sobbing, obviously she wasn't okay. But Shiena just didn't know what to say, she wasn't used to dealing with that kind of situation.

"What's wrong? Please, open the door… I just want to talk… Is it my fault? Is it because of something I said?"

Shiena was actually worried that it may be her fault, but she couldn't recall having say anything offensive. But something harmless to her could be hurtful to someone else, so maybe she was responsible.

"I… I'm sorry, if I hurt you in any way," Shiena said sincerely.

A few seconds passed until Shiena heard a click. The door suddenly opened, and as she expected, Shiena discovered Mahiru inside the cabin. Her eyes were a little reddish, showing that she cried, but she wasn't sobbing anymore.

"It's… not your fault. It's just… the situation… it's just so awful what she did," Mahiru said.

"She? You mean Jackie?"

"Yeah… it just made me feel… sick, to know she could have used someone like me for that purpose…"

Mahiru suddenly went quiet, with a look of regret on her face as if she shouldn't have said that. Shiena remained confused, not understanding why she had that reaction. She didn't say anything specific, just that she felt bad that Jack used someone like… her?

Shiena finally realized what she meant.

"You mean you are-"

"I have to leave," Mahiru interrupted her as she rushed towards the exit.

"Wait!" Shiena exclaimed as she instinctively grabbed Mahiru's arm, stopping her.

Shiena immediately let go of Mahiru's arm, realizing it was wrong to force her to stay. Mahiru remained still, still back to her, shivering a little. Shiena understood how she could have hurt her with her words, now that she knew the truth everything made sense.

"I'm sorry… for implying Jackie was open-minded. She's not, she's a monster who treat people as her tools, what she did to that woman was awful."

Mahiru finally turned back, still looking terribly nervous.

"Are you… going to stop her?" she asked faintly.

"That why I have been hired. I do intend to stop her so she'll never kill or use people anymore," Shiena promised.

Mahiru looked a little bit relieved, but Shiena could see she was still quite tense. Shiena sighed before she tried to give a comforting smile to Mahiru.

"You don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone," Shiena said.

Mahiru looked surprised for a moment before she gave off a weak smile.

"T-Thank you."

"Does anyone else know?"

"...uh… only… Hanabusa-san."

Shiena was a little bit surprised. Why did Sumireko know? Was it simply because she was her boss? Despite her curiosity, Shiena decided to not ask more, not wanting to pry too much on Mahiru's life. She already made her confessed her secret, that was enough.

"Hanabusa was worried for you," Shiena said.

"She… she was?" Mahiru asked, blushing a little.

"Yeah, she must really care about you."

Mahiru continued to blush, much to Shiena's wonder. Well, she did have a doubt why but decided not to insist.

"I should… go joined her. She must be at her reunion right now," Mahiru said.

"And I should get back to work, my report won't write itself!"

"I… wish you luck with your investigation."

"Thanks! I'll do my best!"

As they were heading for the exit, Shiena got a little bit closer to Mahiru.

"If you ever need to talk… feel free to come see me. I may not be the more suitable to help, but I can at least listen and do my best," Shiena said.

"I… thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Mahiru replied softly.

Shiena smiled gently as they left the restroom, returning to their respective tasks. Shiena felt a little bit bad to have unintentionally discovered Mahiru's secret, but at the same time, she was glad she got the chance to talk with her. Mahiru was such a sweet girl, Shiena wished she could be her friend.

That was the first time for a while that Shiena was interested in befriending someone.

* * *

Otoya pressed the stop button on the recorder. Another tape she received as a gift from Nio. She couldn't help but grin after what she just heard, before bursting into a mad laugh. She was just so happy and excited, so much that she punched the wall. She just had so much adrenaline in her body right now.

She took a deep breath and calm down, still grinning like an excited child.

Shiena got it. She understood her trick. She found out the truth so easily. Sure she did it because she was cornered by that annoying guy, but it only showed her determination and conviction. She's not the type to give up easily, and more importantly, she truly understood Otoya.

"_What an annoying girl,_" Nio had told her earlier. "_If it was me I would have killed her already, but the higher up doesn't want to kill anyone from AKA. At least the plan worked and they don't suspect this murder to be a commissioned assassination._"

Otoya smirked. As if she would let them kill her precious new plaything. But thankfully it didn't seem like her group will want to kill Shiena any time soon so everything was for the best. Despite the fact Shiena uncovered the truth, she knew her coworkers will still doubt her, thus assuring her that the truth about her real gender was still debatable and not a certainty among her enemies.

Shiena wasn't an enemy though. She was her worthy opponent, the only one of them who actually gets her. She may have talked about the possibility that it was a copycat, but Otoya knew she didn't truly believe that. She just said that to shut that guy up, there was simply no conviction in her voice.

Otoya rose up from her bed and got closer to the picture of Shiena in her room. She grabbed a marker and drew a heart around Shiena's face, humming to herself happily.

She wanted to talk to her so badly. She wanted to meet her face to face. But obviously Nio would be against it. She couldn't help but grin again. So what? As if she cared about what that midget think, it wasn't like she would know anyway. And even if she discovered it, she could simply lie. There was nothing to worry about.

Otoya made her choice. She'll meet with Shiena, but she had to make it look like a coincidence. No, even better, Shiena must be the one who comes to her. She will give her another riddle to solve, and if managed to find her, then it will only prove that she was really worthy of her.

For all her hard work, Shiena deserved a gift. A little something to show her her appreciation, that she too, cared for her. She needed to show Shiena that she acknowledge her presence and that she wanted to play with her. She needed to make her understand that she knew she was tracking her.

Otoya smiled to herself when she realized how she could do that. Looked like she'll have to spend some time at the library.

* * *

No matter how much she was thinking about this, something didn't add up with this case.

Lying on her bed, Shiena was thinking about Jack's recent murder. Unlike what she claimed, Shiena was convinced that this crime wasn't the work on a copycat. It was Jack, no doubt about it. She simply knew in her heart that this murder belonged to her and not some imitator.

She was still thinking that her theory was right. Jack tried to deceive them by making it look like she was a man to cover her tracks. What a clever trick, Jack was certainly an intelligent woman. But Shiena was convinced she was smarter than her and was determined to prove it to Jack by finally catching her.

Shiena suddenly realized something. Jack tried to deceive them right? But why? Why did she felt the need to trick them into thinking she was a man? Everywhere in the news people were saying she was a man, it wasn't like she really needed to do that…

Unless she knew AKA was suspecting her to be a woman.

How would she know that? AKA didn't make public that information, there was no logical reason why Jack would have known that a secret agency she shouldn't know about what suspecting her to be a woman.

But what if Jack knew about AKA and their suspicion? But how…

A dark thought suddenly crossed Shiena's mind. What if there was a spy among AKA?

No, that sounded ridiculous. Why would a spy warned Jack about AKA suspecting her to be a woman? It wasn't like a serial killer would have that kind of resource.

Shiena then remembered other details that looked odd. The fact that there were signs of effraction to the victim's window. Since when Jack had to do that to get to her victim? Everything led her to think that she was the manipulative type who tricked women into willingly let her come into their house, she wasn't the type to break in. Was she in a hurry this time? No, she must take all the time she needed to deceive her victims, why would this time she felt impatient? It simply didn't make sense.

Then, there was another strange detail. That woman, she was wealthier than all of Jack's victims. She was usually targeting mid-class or less fortunate women, suddenly killing a wealthier one seemed like a risk Jack would have normally avoided.

Maybe it was really a copycat after all…

Shiena immediately chased away this thought from her mind. No, it couldn't be a copycat, it had to be Jack. It was what her guts were telling her. There must have a totally logical explanation, and it was up to her to discover it.

She rose up from her bed and went to her computer. She typed the victim's name to learn more about her and hopefully discovered why she was killed. She discovered after a few minutes of research that the woman was working for some big company. Shiena decided to search a little bit about this company and found out that for a couple of months, a few members of the company were dead in strange circumstances. One in an explosion, another was found out dead in a backstreet after being presumably strangled, one had died in an apparent accident where he drowned in his own bath, one simply mysteriously disappeared. It felt like someone wanted to cause harm to this company.

"_Multiple mysterious death in a big company, could it be… the work of some secret organization?_" Shiena wondered.

Could Jack be part of some organization? She didn't strike her as the type who would kill for money and didn't see why someone would want to hire a serial killer instead of a professional hitman. Unless… maybe they wanted to somehow hide that the murder was an assassination? That seemed a little bit far-fetched, but it was the only logical conclusion she could think of.

Jack had been hired by a secret organization and was ordered to kill that woman quickly, thus the need to break into her house. That would explain why she took risks by killing a wealthy woman, and also how she could have found out AKA was suspecting her to be a woman, this organization must have put a spy among AKA.

Shiena suddenly got an idea. She looked to see if there was any other suspicious death this week. After a quick overview of this week's newspapers, Shiena discovered fourth death that looked familiar.

Someone killed in an explosion. Someone strangled to death in a forest. Someone drowned in a pool. Someone who mysteriously disappeared.

Just like those deaths in the last victim's company.

Shiena felt a chill down her spine. That was starting to freak her out. It all those death was really the work of some secret organization and Jack was part of it, then all of this was way more serious than she thought. Probably too serious and dangerous for her. She had to warn AKA, it was a secret agency after all, it had to be able to do something.

Then Shiena remembered. If her theory was right, then there was a spy among AKA. If she tells them about her theory, then this organization will learn about her and would most likely try to eliminate her. She couldn't take that risk, she had to investigate on her own and maybe tell someone she could really trust, like Chitaru.

Her heart was beating so fast, from fright and excitement. She discovered something big, and she couldn't help but want to dig more and know the truth. Especially if it was related to Jack.

She took a deep breath. If she wanted to renounce, now was the right time, it wasn't too late, she really shouldn't get involve…

"_No, I have to. I promise I would stop Jackie, and if she's part of a secret organization, I can't do otherwise than investigate them too._"

Her decision was made. She was determined to find out Jack's identity and make her arrested, even if for that, she had to bring down an entire secret organization.

* * *

**Things aren't looking good for Shiena. What is Otoya planning? Don't hesitate to tell me what you think!**


	6. Declaration of love

Shiena stepped inside the office, taking a sip of her coffee, desperately needing some extra caffeine. She didn't get that much sleep last time, too obsessed with her discovery. She was convinced that some dark secret organization was working in the shadow and that Jack was affiliated to them. She couldn't talk about her suspicion in AKA, fearing that there might be a spy and would be targeted for knowing too much.

"_It almost feels like I'm the protagonist of some thriller book,_" she thought.

As she headed for her desk, Shiena encountered Mahiru, who seemed to be heading for Sumireko's office.

"Good morning, Banba," Shiena said with a smile.

"G-Good morning, Kenmochi-san," Mahiru replied shyly with a weak smile.

They both went to their respective destinations. Before she could even sit down, Shiena was welcomed by a certain coworker.

"Good morning, Shiena-chan!"

Haru was standing next to her, with her usual bright smile. Shiena was too tired for this, but she still forced herself to smile.

"Good morning, Ichinose."

"I saw you greeting Mahiru-san. I never saw her smiled at anyone other than Hanabusa-san. Even when I try to talk to her she's so nervous and shy."

"Ah… maybe she's just in a good mood today?" Shiena claimed.

So Haru wasn't as clueless as she thought, she was capable of noticing that kind of details. Well, she was working at AKA as an agent assistant, so obviously she was not as naive as she looked. Behind that cute and innocent smile Shiena was convinced that Haru was hiding a more sly personality, reasons why she couldn't trust her.

"I wish I could be friends with her. She seems like such a sweet girl," Haru admitted.

"She sure does… A rare pure soul in this twisted world," Shiena replied.

"Huh? That sounds kind of pessimistic…"

"Ah… I'm just joking. It's just that after you witness such brutal murder, you can't help but be a little less positive about life," Shiena explained.

Suddenly, Haru's smile disappeared, to be replaced with a rather gloomy expression.

"So it was really… that awful. I'm not allowed on crime scenes, but I heard about the victim. Poor woman…" Haru said.

Haru seemed to genuinely have sympathy for the victim.

"I heard that they found… male fluids inside the victim. Most people here think the culprit is a man," Haru said.

"Male fluids… ? Oh! Well, I still stick to my analysis. This is nothing more than a red herring and the culprit is a woman trying to cover her track by making it look like it's the work of a man."

"Even if you said that, others don't seem to believe you."

Shiena froze for a moment. Was Haru trying to make fun of her? She immediately regretted telling her that, obviously she wouldn't have taken her seriously. Just like them, she fell for Jack's trick.

"But I believe you, Shiena-chan. If you say Jack is a woman, then I'll trust you. I have faith you," Haru said with a surprisingly serious expression.

Shiena remained speechless. So Haru did believe her. Shiena remained uncertain about how she felt about that, but part of her was glad that Haru trusted her.

"So you haven't changed your mind even with the recent evidence."

Shiena turned back to discover Chitaru.

"Namatame…"

"Most evidence seems to point that the ripper is a man, yet you still believe that they are a woman. Is that conviction or stubbornness?" Chitaru said.

Shiena felt some pain in her heart. So even Chitaru was doubting her… but despite that, Shiena was determined to prove that she was right.

"It's not just a belief, I'm certain that she's a woman. She just put sperm to deceive us," Shiena insisted.

"Do you have evidence of that?"

"Yes, I have! Jackie has over 20 victims and we never found sperm in any of them, isn't it strange that suddenly one of them have? Don't you think it suspicious? I already explained why Jackie was most likely a woman, we have a testimony of a witness yet we're going to throw all of that away just because one of the victims had sperm inside of her? This is ridiculous. Most evidence shows that Jackie is a woman, only one shows that it may be a man. I'm just being logical."

"Then maybe this crime was the work of a male copycat," Chitaru proposed.

"I don't think so. That murder smelt like Jackie, I'm sure of it. After all, there was a flower left in the victim's hair. It's her signature. The police never revealed that detail about the flowers, right? Then it can't be a copycat."

"Then I'll ask you another question. How did the ripper know we were suspecting them of being a woman? The news always described them as a man, so logically they had no reason to try to deceive us."

Chitaru came to the same question as Shiena, but without the conclusion. Shiena wanted to tell her the truth, but she wasn't sure if she could trust her. She didn't think Chitaru could be the spy, but she could tell someone else about it. It was for the best to keep it to herself for now.

"There is a reason. I'm currently investigating it, but before I have definitive proof, I can't tell you. My safety could be compromised. So please, just believe me for now. Jackie tried to deceive us, I won't take it back."

Chitaru remained silent for a moment before she sighed.

"I do trust you. I won't ask you to tell me, but please remain careful. For now, I'll leave the ripper's gender as unknown, so feel free to view them as a woman. We won't deny this possibility even with the recent evidence."

"T-Thank you, Namatame!"

Chitaru then smiled softly as she put a comforting hand on Shiena's shoulder.

"Continue your good work, Kenmochi, and let's catch that bastard!"

Shiena couldn't help but smile too, feeling confident about herself.

"Yes!"

* * *

Sitting on a comfy chair at the library, Otoya was pretending to read. Her eyes were constantly attracted by the people walking around, looking for the perfect target. It had been a couple of days that she came to the library simply to find the right person. As usual, she dressed properly to fit in that intellectual environment: a clean yet casual shirt, her hair tied up in a ponytail in front of her shoulder, and the finishing touch, a pair of fake glasses. She just looked like a classy and laid-back nerd.

As she flipped one of the page of her book to give the illusion she was actually reading, Otoya spotted a woman in one of the alleys. Brown hair, dressed in a poor fashioned sense, and wearing glasses. She wasn't ugly in any mean, but certainly not Otoya's type and neither what society considered as beautiful. She looked like she was trying to reach some book but was too short to catch it. Otoya smiled to herself as she rose up, heading for the alley.

"Need some help?" Otoya proposed with a soft smile.

The woman turned back and jolted, looking at Otoya with an uncertain expression.

"I… I just can't grab that book…"

"Oh, in that case…"

Otoya, who was taller than the woman, stretched an arm and managed to grab the book. She took a brief look at it to know what it was about.

"Oh, Minato Kanae!" Otoya exclaimed, faking interest.

"You… you know her?"

"Yes, I never got the chance to read her books, but it was suggested by one of my friends. Is it good?"

The woman's eyes were suddenly full of sparkles.

"Good is an understatement, her books are masterpieces! Kanae is a genius of the mystery genre! Her works are always deep, exploring the dark side of human nature. I love her books so much, you should totally read them!"

Otoya tried her best to not grin. It was just so easy, it always was. Once again, her prey fell right into her web.

"Well then, I'll give it a try. Which one should I start with?" Otoya asked.

"Oh, you should totally start with Confession! Try to look for it, it should be there."

Otoya took a look at this author's books. Indeed, Confession was there. But despite that, Otoya didn't took it.

"I don't see it," Otoya pretended.

"Oh… well someone must have borrowed it then."

"What a shame, I really wanted to read it."

The woman looked like she was hesitating for a moment before she smiled.

"I have a copy at my house, if you want you can come and borrow it," she proposed.

"Really? You would do that for me?" Otoya asked, faking to look surprised.

"Of course! I can't let a potential future fan get away like that, you will read that book no matter what!"

"Well, I guess I'll accept your offer. Thank you so much!"

When the woman turned back, Otoya allowed herself to smirk maliciously. It was so pleasurable to be able to deceive others and so much rewarding. That woman should just be grateful that she dared to give her attention, usually Otoya wouldn't have even bother looking at her in the street. Ah, what wouldn't she do for love?

She hoped that Shiena will know how to appreciate her gift.

* * *

Shiena wondered why she accepted Haru's offer.

Standing in front of the mall, Shiena was waiting for her coworker. Haru asked her to go shopping with her and a friend, and Shiena wasn't able to say no. She really didn't want to, but she didn't want to appear rude and unfriendly, so she said yes. Just going out with Haru would have been okay, but she was a little bit nervous about her friend. Shiena disliked meeting new people, she was always worried they might be bullies. But if she was a friend of Haru, she must at least act nice. Shiena didn't see how Haru could be friends with a bad person unless she was bad herself.

Shiena took a look at her outfit. She was really not sure how to dress, she wasn't used to going out. So she just ended up wearing her usual clothes, a hoodie and a pair of jean. She didn't have anything better than that except her suits to work, and she thought it would have been weird for her to go shopping dressed in such a professional way. Something casual and in which she would be comfortable seemed to be the more rational option. Her hair, who was usually tied up in a single braid was now tied up in two braids.

"Shiena-chan, sorry for the wait!"

She saw Haru heading towards her, waving happily. She was dressed in such a cute way, casual yet fashionable too. Shiena felt a little bit complexed, but before she could dwell too much about it, she noticed that Haru wasn't alone. She was with a girl Shiena didn't know…

Wait. She _did_ know her.

"_That girl, she is…_"

Haru was now standing in front of her, pointing her friend.

"Shiena-chan, let me introduce you to my friend."

"I'm Kirigaya Hitsugi, nice to meet you," the girl said with a polite smile.

It was the first time Shiena met her in person, but she saw her in a picture.

"You're… Namatame's wife," Shiena mumbled.

"Right, you work with Ichinose-san, so you must know my wife."

"Yeah… huh, I'm Kenmochi Shiena… nice to meet you too."

Hitsugi was pretty short and dressed a little bit childishly, but she was nonetheless a really beautiful girl. Someone worthy of Chitaru. Shiena couldn't help but feel jealous of that girl and a little bit bitter, but she tried her best to not show it and tried to smile.

"What are we waiting for? I wanna go see the clothes!" Haru said excitedly.

As she said that, Haru grabbed both Shiena and Hitsugi's hands and stepped inside the mall.

They first started with a clothing shop. Shiena felt a little bit overwhelmed, she didn't even remember the last time she shopped directly in a store. Usually, she just ordered stuff via the internet.

"What do you think of this outfit, Shiena-chan?" Haru asked as she pointed out some clothes.

"Hm, that would suit you," Shiena replied mechanically.

"I mean for you."

"... what? As if I would wear something like that!"

"Huh, why not? It's cute," Hitsugi said.

"... it's too frilly."

Haru and Hitsugi both glanced at each other and chuckles. Shiena felt like they were making fun of her.

"Well then, let's find something simpler but still cute for you!" Haru proposed cheerfully.

"Maybe a t-shirt with some cool design?" Hitsugi said.

"Oh, that would be perfect!" Haru exclaimed.

Shiena stayed still while Haru and Hitsugi went on some kind of treasure hunt across the store. All of this was making her uncomfortable. She really didn't know what to do when she was hanging out with girls. Haru and Hitsugi eventually came back, dropping a heap of clothes in her arms.

"Now go try that!" Haru said.

Shiena didn't protest and went to the fitting rooms and entered one before closing the door behind her. She removed her hoodie and grabbed a t-shirt and put it one without much hope. When it was done she took a look in the mirror and was a little bit surprised. This t-shirt was actually pretty aesthetically pleasing to look at. She wasn't sure if it really suited her though, it seemed a little bit too fancy for someone like her.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by a sudden knock at the door.

"Shiena-chan? Are you done? We wanna see!" Haru said.

"Yeah, just a sec!"

Shiena took a deep breath, trying to calm her nervous heart, before she opened the door.

Haru and Hitsugi were standing there, looking at her silently. Shiena was worried that she looked ridiculous right now and, as she was about to get back inside to change they both smiled.

"Shiena-chan looks so cool!" Haru said.

"It does suit her indeed," Hitsugi agreed.

Shiena felt like she was blushing a little. She felt stupid to react that way, obviously they were just saying that to be nice. Wasn't what girls do, complimenting each other simply to be nice? Regardless, it still made her somewhat happy.

"Now try the others!" Haru playfully ordered.

Shiena did as she was told and tried the other t-shirts, receiving more compliments from Haru and Hitsugi. Pushed by their praise, Shiena decided to buy a couple of them and they left the store. They went to buy some beverages and take a break on a bench.

"Ah, I'm going to the bathroom, be right back!" Haru declared as she left.

Shiena was now alone with Hitsugi. She remained awkwardly silent, not knowing what to say. She knew nothing about that girl, but she felt like it would be rude to not at least try to talk to her.

"So… how long do you know Ichinose?" Shiena asked.

"A couple of years, since she joined Chitaru-san's workplace. Each time she tells me about a girl working with her, I always ask to meet her."

"Oh, why so?"

"Hm… I'm just curious to meet Chitaru-san's coworkers, and it's easier to befriend other girls."

Hitsugi suddenly got closer to Shiena.

"You know, Chitaru-san told me about you. Apparently you're smart and determined, she has you in high esteem."

Shiena immediately blushed. To know that Chitaru praised her like that outside work filled her with joy. Strangely, Hitsugi was now looking at her with curiosity.

"What do you think of Chitaru-san, Kenmochi-san?"

"I… I admire her! She's a wonderful person, she's honest and decent, and… quite handsome," Shiena admitted, blushing even more.

For a split-second, Hitsugi gaze looked cold and even dark, before she was back at smiling.

"Chitaru-san truly is wonderful, isn't she? Everyone gets caught in her light, she's like the sun," Hitsugi said.

"She is indeed a ray of sunshine," Shiena agreed.

Hitsugi continued to smile, but there was something somewhat gloomy in her smile.

"Kenmochi-san, do you know how Icarus died?"

"Huh? How did he die?" Shiena asked, confused.

"He flew too close to the sun. The wax of his wings melted and he felt in the sea and drown," Hitsugi said with such a sickeningly sweet smile.

Shiena remained silent. What did she mean, why did she talk about Icarus all of the sudden? Before she could ask, Hitsugi continued to talk.

"Don't fell in the sea, Kenmochi-san."

What an ominous statement. Before Shiena could think about it more, Haru suddenly came back.

"I'm back, sorry for the wait. How about we go see the baby animals at the pet shop?" Haru proposed.

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, right Kenmochi-san? I want to see the birds," Hitsugi said.

Shiena silently agreed and followed them to the pet shop, still confused and even a little bit worried about what Hitsugi told her.

* * *

Shiena hoped she would never have to go through something like that ever again. Looked like it had been hopeless, before there was, in a police car heading to another crime scene. They had received an anonymous phone call to report a murder. They didn't know who the culprit was, but if it was who Shiena was thinking about, she had to brace herself for another horrible sight.

The car parked in front of a building. Chitaru, Tokaku and Shiena exited the car and entered, followed by cops. They headed for apartment number 5, the door already opened. As they stepped inside, Shiena's heart was beating fast. She was ready to face the worst, a sight worthy of a nightmare full of blood and viscera. As they reach the bedroom, Shiena gulped, before taking a deep breath, preparing herself mentally.

She stepped inside, expecting the worst, yet what she saw wasn't up to her expectation.

There was no blood or organs in the room. Only a young woman lying on her bed, seemingly sleeping peacefully.

"Is she…?" Shiena wanted to ask.

"Yes, she undeniably dead," the medical examiner said.

Nervously, Shiena stepped closer to the corpse. The woman lying on the bed seemed in her twenties, long brown hair and wearing glasses, fully clothed. She was rather plain looking, nothing special about her. Her appearance was tidy and her hands placed on her belly, her eyes closed as if she was simply sleeping. Her expression was serene like she felt no pain when she died. At least she was spared from a painful death.

Then Shiena noticed the two flowers in her hair. A lavender flower with twisted petals and a purple one with spikes.

"What do you think of this murder, Kenmochi?" Chitaru asked.

"It feels like… respect and love," Shiena replied.

"Huh? Someone got killed, what the hell are you talking about?" Tokaku let out.

"The mind of a killer doesn't work the same way as us," Shiena replied. "In the killer's mind, what they did was respectful and an act of love."

"Tss… fucking psychopaths," Tokaku added.

Shiena wondered if the culprit this time was truly a psychopath. This murder was particular, the corpse had been arranged to look pretty, this wasn't the work of a madman. The culprit was well conscious of their action, leaning to the hypothesis that they were a psychopath. But there was a lack of malice in this murder, they were so cruelty or sadism, only respect and love. Could a psychopath truly love and respect someone? Respect perhaps, but love seemed impossible.

Shiena then went back to the flowers and an idea popped up in her mind.

"This is… Jackie's signature," Shiena said.

"You think this is the work of the ripper?" Chitaru asked.

"I'm not sure… There's something feminine with this murder, I feel like the culprit is a woman. A romantic one, this murder is a declaration of love."

"So she killed the one she loved? Doesn't make sense," Tokaku complained.

"I never said that woman is the one she loves. It could be a message to someone else."

"To whom?" Chitaru asked.

"I don't know… someone who could see the corpse I suppose."

Shiena was left pondering. Was the culprit really Jack? Whether it was her or not, she was convinced that this murder was a declaration of love, a message to someone the culprit loved or at least respect. But who?

She remained thoughtful but found no answer to her question. They eventually left the crime scene and she returned home, lying on her bed and thinking about this murder. She felt like it was somehow related to her, but she couldn't quite put the finger on why.

She noticed how late it was and decided to go to sleep. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, the answer came to her like a flash.

Brown hair, glasses, plain-looking.

The victim looked just like her.

* * *

**Hitsugi finally officially appeared, now all the Class Black girls are in the story! What will be her role in this story?**

**What is Otoya doing and how Shiena will react to this hidden message? You'll see next week, seeya next time!**


	7. Long-awaited meeting

**Warning: mention of non-con**

* * *

The autopsy showed that the woman died of strangulation, but she wasn't conscious when she was killed. Tests revealed that she had sleeping meds in her body, and there were no signs of struggle. She died of a merciful death in her sleep without feeling any pain or fear.

Nobody seemed to suspect Jack of being the culprit. After all, Jack was someone who enjoyed torturing and playing with her victims, she fed on their pain and fear, which totally lacked with the latest victim. But Shiena knew it was Jack, not that she wanted to insist on that to her coworkers. After all, she didn't want them to know that the killer was sending her a message.

"_Declaration of love…_" Shiena typed.

At her workplace, Shiena was investigating the latest murder. She felt like the flowers were the key to solve this mystery. Jack didn't leave one but two flowers, there must be a reason. She was challenging her, purposefully leaving clues to find her, taunting her. But Shiena was determined to make her regret her arrogance by successfully solve this riddle, and catch this monster once and for all.

"_Red tulip means declaration of love,_" Shiena read.

Neither of the flowers she found on the corpse was a red tulip. Of course, it would have been too easy if it was the case. Thistle and mountain lily… what was their meaning?

After a quick research, she found out that mountain lilies meant joy of life. Ironic since it was found on a dead body. The second, thistle, could have multiple meanings. Endurance, unity and victory was the first result she found. It could also mean bravery, devotion, durability, strength and determination. It was a flower cherish in Scotland but loathed in Canada, considered as weeds.

Shiena wondered why Jack chose those flowers. None of them seemed related to love. There must be some kind of hidden meaning behind those two flowers, something relevant to both of them.

"_Two flowers… two people… me and Jackie. Those flowers… maybe they represent us._"

The mountain lily definitely represented Jack. She was clearly enjoying her life by taking others away. Then did it mean that the thistle represented her? Shiena didn't see how. Was she brave? Well, she was trying to uncover a dangerous serial killer that may be part of an evil organization, so maybe. Devoted, well she was quite passionate about Jack. Durability, despite all the bullying she went through she was still living and enjoying her life in her own way, that also took strength. And determination, she didn't give up on her conclusion about Jack and was determined to catch her.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that this flower did represent her after all.

Shiena felt her heart pounding. Jack was complimenting her. But then she realized how frightening it actually was. Jack successfully guessed what kind of person she was. And there wasn't only that. The victim was a loner who had barely any friends and no contact with her family, according to her coworkers she was completely obsessed with books and barely left her house. In other words, a nerd.

Shiena was forced to admit that this woman was just like her, and not only in appearance.

Just like she profiled Jack, Jack profiled her. It was like she was sending her a message, telling her that she was watching her from the shadow, saying how she too, knew who she was.

She had acknowledged Shiena as her opponent and was challenging her.

Shiena's heart kept beating fast. A dangerous serial killer knew she was after her, she knew how she was, she knew how she looked like, and she was even sending her messages. She killed that woman simply to show her she knew about her, wasn't it a death threat?

No, if it was she would have killed her horribly to scare her. She killed that woman painlessly and without tormenting her. This was a sign of respect, she was showing Shiena that she respected her but also warn her that she could kill her if she wanted. But it didn't look like it was her intention, it looked like she wanted to play with her.

Shiena took a deep breath. This situation was terrifying, yet she couldn't help but feel a little bit… excited. She felt like a fangirl who had been acknowledged by her idol. She felt stupid but she couldn't control her feelings. She had been obsessed with Jack for so long, it felt rewarding to be acknowledged by her, even if it was highly dangerous. It just made her even more determined to catch her.

Shiena started to research about flower shops in the victim's town, thinking that she might be able to find where those flowers came from. If she found the right shop she could ask who bought them. Jack made a mistake, and Shiena was ready to exploit it. She'll make her pay for her arrogance and all her crimes, she swore it on her honour.

Jack won't get away anymore.

* * *

Shiena's heart was racing in her chest. She tried to breathe deeply to calm down, but her heart remained agitated. She was in front of a flower shop. This was the moment of truth, she didn't think she would meet Jack there, but she felt like she would get closer to her. Behind that door lie something related to Jack, she was sure of it. She took another deep breath and sigh, before finally opening the door.

It looked like a regular flower shop. Lots of flowers in pots, not so many customers. It was kind of late after all. Shiena went right after work to confirm her theory. She looked around, looking for specific flowers until someone suddenly came to see her.

"May I help you?"

Shiena froze for a moment. A really beautiful woman was talking to her. Shiena was left speechless, incapable of finding the right words to say. Her smile was so bright and her skin was flawless, she was just so pretty. There was so way such a beautiful girl would even talk to her like that until Shiena noticed her uniform. She was working here.

"I… I'm looking for… thistles and mountain lilies," Shiena mumbled, trying to avoid the woman's eyes.

The woman chuckled as if she was amused by Shiena's shyness.

"We have those in the greenhouse, would you like to see?" the employee proposed with a polite smile.

"Y-Yeah, sure…"

The woman led her to a door that brought them to the greenhouse. It wasn't that big, but there were a lot of flowers growing there. The employee then led her to a bunch of flowers that Shiena recognized as mountain lilies.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" the woman said. "And you said you also wanted thistles? Not a really common flower to buy, especially not with mountain lilies."

"Actually… I'm looking for someone who might have bought those two flowers… together," Shiena admitted.

"Huh? What a strange request. I can't really talk to you about my clients, sorry."

Shiena wasn't going to give up so easily. Nervously, she took out her badge and showed it to the employee.

"I… I'm working for the police! This is part of an investigation," Shiena said, trying to look assertive.

The woman took a good look at the badge, probably wondering if it was fake, before she smiled.

"Well then, I suppose I'll have to talk. I don't recall any customers who bought those two flowers together."

"May I speak to the owner?"

"I am the owner."

"Oh… maybe it was another employee?"

"I check all the purchases, there was no one who bought thistles with mountain lilies."

"Then perhaps someone stole them," Shiena proposed.

"Hm, that could be a possibility. Are you looking for a specific person?"

"A woman. Tall, with… a big bosom," Shiena said, blushing a little.

The woman let out an amused giggled.

"So, like me?"

It took a moment for Shiena to realize what she meant. Of course, why didn't she noticed sooner? The woman was rather tall and she had big breasts. But Shiena was expecting Jack so be ever taller and with much more bigger breasts. This woman felt just like she was bragging and it annoyed Shiena.

"You… you're not that tall and they aren't that big," Shiena replied.

The woman laughed at that.

"At least more than you," she replied.

Shiena froze. Was this woman making fun of her? She looked so nice earlier yet now Shiena was starting to have a bad feeling about her.

"Anyway, have you seen any woman like that?" Shiena insisted.

"Hm, I wonder… maybe it would help if I know why you're looking for her," the woman replied with some taunt in her voice.

Shiena was seriously starting to be pissed off. This woman was annoying, she was clearly making fun of her, and at this point, Shiena just wanted to frighten her a little so she lost her mocking smile.

"Yes, we suspect her to be Jack the Ripper of the 21st century. You know, the infamous serial killer in this town, killing beautiful women… just like you."

Shiena felt a little bit bad for saying that, but she was really annoyed by that woman. The owner seemed surprised before she let out a nervous laugh.

"You must be joking… there's no way this freak would have been here… right?"

"I'm afraid that this is where my investigation led me," Shiena replied, feeling more and more guilty.

"It's not like it's the only flower shop in town, she could have got those from any other shops!"

"There are not many shops selling thistles in this town, and among the only ones who do, only yours also sell mountain lilies. It's logical to conclude that the killer bought them both here."

This is the clue Shiena understood from Jack's message. She put those two flowers together not only because it represented them, but to indicate her how to find her. She wanted her to find this shop, she was challenging her. She was playing with her, but Shiena wasn't going to let her have fun. She'll catch her no matter what.

"Why would a serial killer buy flowers anyway? I don't understand what is the meaning of this!" the woman exclaimed.

Shiena remained quiet. Those were confidential information, she wasn't even allowed right now to use her badge to investigate without asking permission, which she hadn't. But this was personal, Jack was provoking her, she had to retaliate. Once she found out who she is she'll tell AKA and hopefully they will forgive her disobedience.

"We found those two flowers on her latest victim," Shiena replied.

"And you think… they got them from here? Oh my God… I can't believe a serial killer might have walked here."

Shiena was really feeling bad. She must have terrified that poor woman.

"We don't know for sure, but I can guaranty you that we're doing anything we can to stop her. We're getting closer every day to catch her."

"Well, that's a relief. I wish you good luck with your investigation."

"If your employees saw a woman who fits the description, call me. Here's my number," Shiena said as she wrote it down a piece of paper. "By the way, my name is Kenmochi Shiena."

The florist took the paper and smiled weakly.

"Thank you, I'll give you a call if I learn anything."

Shiena nodded and left the greenhouse, and as she was about to leave the shop, the owner suddenly ran after her.

"Wait, you forgot this!" the woman said, holding a wallet.

"Oh, my wallet! It must have fallen when I took out my badge, thanks," Shiena said as she took back her wallet.

"No problem."

Shiena put back her wallet in her pocket and then realized she forgot something.

"Ah, I haven't asked for your name."

The florist smiled in a rather charming way.

"I'm Takechi Otoya. Nice to meet you, Kenmochi-san."

* * *

After the store closed Otoya returned home and dropped her stuff on the floor before collapsing to her bed. She sighed, thinking about what happened today. She felt exalted. Shiena perfectly solved her riddle and she finally got to meet her. She was much cuter in real life than in picture. She looked like the type who would be so fun to tease and bully, she would probably try to fight back but with the strength of a kitten. So adorable.

A truly perverse smile appeared on Otoya's lips. She looked like the feisty type, she would probably put up a fight if she attacked and tried to rape her. Otoya would love to feel her fingers finding their way inside of her and see her cry and her face tensed in pain. Maybe cutting her cute braid would be fun too.

Otoya took a deep breath. That wasn't why she wanted to meet Shiena. She wanted to know if she was worthy of her expectation, and her finding her so soon definitely proved it. It was just so funny that despite Shiena finding her, she failed to recognize her as the killer she was looking for. She even tried to scare her, how cute. If only she knew who she was truly talking to. It had been so fun to deceive her and play innocent, she wished she could just toy with her like that forever.

Shiena wasn't totally like she pictured her to be. Otoya thought she would be shy and docile, but turned out she had quite the sharp tongue, she wasn't letting people walk over her. But she was also quite sensitive, as soon as Otoya pretend to be afraid, Shiena immediately changed her attitude and tried to comfort her. It just showed how easy it would be to manipulate her and turned her into her plaything.

Now that they met, Otoya had to plan what she was going to do next. She had no intention to kill Shiena, that would be such a waste of potential, especially for such an entertaining woman. She just couldn't wait to see what will be Shiena's next move, but for that, Otoya needed to make a move first.

Otoya got up from her bed and went to her computer, going on Facebook. She typed Shiena's name and after few minutes of search, she found her profile. She smirked as she started to look at her profile.

How could she reward the hardworking and valiant Shiena-chan? The answer what obvious. All she wanted was her dear Jackie.

And Otoya will give her exactly what she wanted.

* * *

Lying on her bed, Shiena was thinking about all the clues she had for now. She just finished work and went straight for home. She was still waiting for a phone call from the florist to know if anyone saw a woman fitting Jack's description. She was so exalted, she was feeling like she was getting closer to Jack. She finally had a lead, a chance to find her, and to catch her. She wanted to see Jack's face so badly, hear her voice, talk to her, she was craving to meet her in person.

Shiena closed her eyes, trying to put herself in the killer's shoes, trying to imagine what she would say to her.

"_Good job at solving all my riddles, but do you think it will be enough to catch me? I'm too smart for you to catch me._"

Shiena clenched her fist. She was never the type to brag, but she was determined to prove to Jack that she could outsmart her.

"_Did you like my gift? I did it with all my love. I could kill you if I want, I know who you are, I know how you look like, I know what kind of person you are. It would be so easy to find you and turn you into my next flower arrangement._"

Shiena giggled nervously. Jack may know about her, it wasn't like she knew where she lived. She was safe, there was no way Jack could kill her.

"_You may think you're safe, but I'm watching. I'm lurking in the shadow, ready to jump on you at any moment. I wonder what your insides look like._"

Shiena felt a chill down her spine. She tried to comfort herself that she will be fine, but she couldn't help but be worried.

"_I know where you live. I'll come to pay you a visit, just wait for me. I'll bring you another gift, I hope you're gonna like it. And then I'll-_"

Ding dong.

Shiena immediately jolted. The doorbell continued to ring. Who it might be at that hour? A terrible idea crossed her mind.

What if it was Jack.

"_Of course it can't be her,_" Shiena thought to reassure herself. "_As if she would know where I live, I'm just being paranoid._"

Shiena got out of bed and headed for the front door. Her heart was beating fast, somewhat worried about who it might be. She barely never had any visitor, the last one being Chitaru? Could it be her again? No, she would have called before.

When she arrived in front of the door, Shiena took a deep breath to calm herself, and opened.

She was welcomed by a bunch of thistles and mountain lilies.

"Hey there. Sorry to come so late, I just finished working~"

Shiena remained frozen. Right in front of her was the florist she met the other day, holding a bouquet of thistles and mountain lilies, a charming smile on her face.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to invite me, Kenmochi-san?"

Shiena didn't say anything, not understanding what this woman was doing there.

"Ta… Takechi?"

"Aww, you remember my name, I'm so flattered~"

And without waiting to be invited, Otoya simply entered in her apartment and looked around.

"It's really clean here, I see that you're really organized. Not like me," Otoya said.

After Chitaru's visite, Shiena felt the need to keep her home more cleaned up, giving the impression that she was organized. She was glad she did that now that she had another visitor, but she was still confused of why she was here.

"Takechi… what are you doing here? How did you find my apartment?"

"Hehe, no need to rush things, I'll tell you everything you want to know soon. But first, I wouldn't say no for a cup of coffee. Oh here, those are for you~"

Otoya handed the bouquet to Shiena, who was starting to be more and more weird out and even worried. That woman just arrived unannounced in her home and didn't even want to say how she found her. But Shiena was too confused to say anything and simply took the bouquet, before heading for the kitchen.

"I… I only have instant coffee."

"That will be fine, thanks."

Shiena put the flowers on the counter and put water to boil, her hands shaking a little, while Otoya sat down on a chair, completely calm as if this situation was totally normal. When the water finished boiling Shiena took a cup and put coffee powders in it, before pouring the hot water.

"What… what do you put in your coffee?" Shiena asked.

"Cream and two sugars."

"I… I don't have cream."

"Oh… then milk will be fine."

Shiena put two sugars in the coffee and added some milk, before she put the cup on the table in front of Otoya. She then stood still, not sure what to do now.

"You may sit," Otoya said as she took a sip of her coffee.

Shiena did as she was told and sat down in front of her uninvited guest. She kept wondering what she was doing here, how she got here, and especially, why such a beautiful woman would be in her apartment.

"Hm, you didn't make a coffee for you too?" Otoya questioned.

"I… I'm not thirsty…"

"But Kenmochi-san, you don't drink coffee when you're thirsty. After all, caffeine dehydrates."

Shiena replied nothing to that while Otoya continued to drink her coffee. She just waited for her to explain herself, but Otoya remained silent.

"So… are you going to tell me what you doing here?" Shiena eventually asked.

"Hm, I wonder~" Otoya taunted.

Shiena lost patience. She hit the table with her fist and suddenly rose up, glaring at Otoya.

"Don't mess with me! You show up late at my home unannounced with those ominous flowers without even telling how you get my address! What's wrong with you? Tell me immediately what you're up to!" Shiena shouted.

Otoya remained silent with a blank expression and put down her coffee, before a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Come on Kenmochi-san, I'm sure you can answer those questions by yourself~"

Shiena became silent. What did she mean by that? All should she know why and how she was here? What this woman was thinking? Shiena tried to find an answer by herself, trying to understand Otoya's presence here.

A terrible thought crossed her mind.

Shiena felt her heart skip a beat. No, it couldn't be her. How would she found her? Shiena rose up and started to recoil in fear, but she reached a wall.

"You… the flowers… the shop… you followed me home… you are…"

Words didn't come out from Shiena mouth. Otoya chuckled as she rose up and stepped towards Shiena, leaning on her and putting an arm right above her head, looking at her in a sinister yet seductive way.

"You found the answer, don't you?" Otoya asked softly.

"You… you are…" Shiena tried to say.

With her other hand, Otoya stroke Shiena's chin.

"I'm just the same as you, Kenmochi-san."

"What… what do you mean?"

Otoya giggled before she recoiled a little, and her expression suddenly changed. She was smiling brightly and her expression could be described as childish, with sparkles in her eyes.

"A serial killer lover!"

Shiena remained speechless for a moment.

"A what?"

"A serial killer enthusiast, just like you!"

Shiena couldn't believe what she heard. For a moment she almost thought that Otoya was Jack, but now she revealed herself to be some kind of serial killer maniac instead.

"Wait… I'm not… into serial killers," Shiena protested.

"Shhh, no need to lie to me, I won't judge you. I know how to recognize a fake badge when I see one. You're just investigating Jack the Ripper for your own passion don't you."

"N-No! I really work for the police!"

"Then why on your Facebook profile it says you're a computer technician?"

"I… wait, you spied on me!?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it spying. After all, you told me your name, isn't it natural that I wanted to know more about you? You don't post much anyway, but I did see a few cute pictures of you~"

Shiena immediately blushed in embarrassment. That woman was a weirdo, but she was forced to admit that she wasn't wrong about her. She was indeed a serial killer enthusiast.

"Jack the Ripper is my favourite one! Since you like her too, I decided to bring you the same flowers she bought. I wonder how you knew though, do you have access to police information?"

"... I work for the police…. Wait. I told you the killer was a woman, that doesn't surprise you?"

"Well, no. I read all about her in the newspaper. Apparently there's never any sign of effraction, the victims obviously let her in from their free will. Women are more willing to trust other women than men. And I just can feel that those murders are the work of a woman."

Shiena was surprised. Never anyone before her suspected Jack to be a woman. Her interest had been stirred, she wanted to talk more about Jack with this woman.

"There's no doubt that Jackie is a psychopath," Shiena added.

"Obviously, those crimes can only be the work of a psychopath. Someone with a lot of charisma who easily deceive and manipulate women," Otoya agreed.

She then chuckled.

"What?" Shiena asked.

"You called her Jackie. That's kinda cute. Almost like you have a crush on her or something."

"O-Of course not! No way I would have a crush on such a monster!" Shiena replied, heavily blushing.

Otoya went quiet for a moment, her expression stoic, before she smiled softly.

"You're right, she is a monster."

Otoya sat back at the table and took another sip of her coffee.

"You were wrong about me though. I didn't follow you home. I'm not some kind of stalker. I simply saw your ID in your wallet and I saw your address. Sorry to not have told you sooner."

"Oh, right, that makes sense," Shiena said, a little bit relieved.

She still found that woman highly odd. She looked way too beautiful to be that kind of nerd, but then again, appearance could be deceptive. And Shiena couldn't deny that she was happy that such a pretty woman shared her interest.

"It's starting to get really late, but I would love to talk to you more about Jack the Ripper!" Otoya said as she rose up. "I feel like you know more than me about her."

"Oh, uh, sure. You have my number, call me anytime. Ah, speaking of call, did any of your employees saw a woman who fits Jackie's description?"

"We had multiple customers who fit the description, tall woman with big breasts isn't that rare."

"Oh okay… thanks anyway."

"Still, it's exciting to think that Jack the Ripper might have been in my own shop! Thank you for telling me, but at the same time, it's pretty terrifying."

"Just don't trust any woman who wants to go to your house and you should be safe."

"Haha, don't worry, I don't invite anyone to my house so easily."

"But you don't mind inviting yourself to others' houses…"

"Hehe, sorry about that. I was just too excited to meet someone who shares my passion!"

Otoya headed for the front door and opened it.

"I had fun talking with you. Don't forget to put the flowers in a vase! Goodnight!"

And as quickly as she came in, Otoya left the apartment. Shiena remained standing still, confused about this strange encounter, but also somewhat happy.

For the first time, she met someone with the same interest as her.

* * *

**Otoya and Shiena finally met officially! Too bad Shiena didn't recognize her as Jackie, that would have been too easy. What is Otoya plotting? Don't hesitate to tell me your thought!**


	8. Bitter Taste

"_Takechi Otoya._"

Shiena typed that name and launch a search on Facebook. After looking at a few profiles she found the one she was looking for, the florist she met, as well as the strange visitor she had yesterday evening. Shiena couldn't get that woman out of her mind. Who the hell she thought she was, inviting herself like that in other people's homes? What an arrogant weirdo, Shiena disliked her. Yet, each time she thought of her, she had this warm feeling in her chest… It was the first time she met another serial killer enthusiast in real life, and she couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as her could have something in common with her. No, there had to be some kind of trap, that woman couldn't be who she claimed to be.

Looking through her Facebook profile, Shiena found notice particular. A couple of selfies, a lot of pictures of flowers (expected from a florist), funny videos, a few memes. Really, just the typical profile you would expect from a normal young woman. Absolutely not the type who would fantasize about serial killers, there was nothing related to that on her profile, unlike Shiena who kept reblogging news articles about murders. So either that woman lied for an unknown reason, or she was simply ashamed of her passions and was hiding it. Both seemed like plausible possibilities. But there was also a third option.

She was actually Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century.

Shiena immediately shook her head.

"_She can't be! She would already have killed me if she was Jackie. As if she would show up in my apartment just to drink coffee and pretend to be like me. That would just be dumb and unnecessary risky for her._"

Shiena really didn't see why she would be lying to her. What would be the point in pretending to be a serial killer enthusiast? Unless it was some elaborate ploy to make fun of her and bully her, but that seemed to complicate to be true. As if that woman would bother that much just to bully her. Shiena would still remain on her guards with her, she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet her again. She was definitely weird, but at the same time, Shiena would really want to have someone with who sharing her passion.

As she looked more through her profile, Shiena discovered that Otoya was one year older than her and that she was interested in women, much to her surprise.

"_I didn't explain her to be a lesbian… She's bold, exposing her preferences like that to everyone… isn't she afraid of prejudice?_"

Shiena had to admit that she had some respect for Otoya. Herself on her own Facebook she didn't dare reveal who she was attracted to, fearing that people might harass her over that. Otoya was an unashamed lesbian and it was truly admirable.

"_Lesbian… just like-_"

"Good morning, Shiena-chan! What are you doing?"

Shiena jolted and immediately turned back, to discover Haru who was staring at her screen. Shiena then realized that she just had been caught being on Facebook at work and blushed in shame.

"Who's that girl?" Haru asked.

"She… she's just a weirdo I met the other day."

"Well, she's really pretty."

"Meh… if that's your type, maybe," Shiena said, trying to sound indifferent.

"Where did you met her?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. She met her in circumstances that could put her in trouble, she wasn't supposed to be at that flower shop investigating. But that would be suspicious to not answer that question so she had to come up with something.

"At a flower shop… I wanted to buy some flowers…"

Well, that was still partially true. Haru looked satisfied with this answer and didn't insist on that.

"She looks nice, I would like to meet her."

"She's not my friend, I just talked to her… once. I don't think I'll ever see her again."

"Then why are you looking at her profile?"

"I... just by curiosity."

"Huh-uh."

Haru looked doubtful, with a smile that almost looked like a malicious smirk. Shiena felt a little bit annoyed by what she thought was prying. When she heard someone else coming Shiena immediately closed the tab.

"Namatame is starting her presentation, you're coming?" Tokaku said.

"We're coming!" Haru exclaimed as she followed Tokaku.

Shiena got up from her chair and followed them, Takechi Otoya still on her mind.

* * *

Chitaru was in front of a slideshow with a picture of a young woman with brown hair and glasses. The agents were sitting in front of her, listening carefully. Shiena was in the front seat, holding a notepad and a pencil.

"The victim's name was Yamada Yuu. She was 24 years old. She died of strangulation after being drugged with sleeping pills, she was unconscious when she was killed. Her corpse had been left in her bed, fully clothed, as if she was sleeping. According to her coworkers, she had no relation with her family anymore and barely have any friends, yet no enemies either. It seemed that her only interest was books, especially those by Minato Kanae. Yamada was described as a discreet and peaceful woman that lived for her passion without bothering anyone, organized and a little bit pedantic," Chitaru said.

The slideshows then showed pictures of the crime scenes and Yamada's apartment. One of the pictures showed her bookshelf, which was primarily composed of works by Minato Kanae. Shiena noticed that there seemed to have an empty space like a book was missing. Shiena didn't really think much of it, the book was probably somewhere else in the apartment, Yamada was probably reading it or something.

"We interrogated her coworkers, none of them had any suspect in mind, most people were indifferent to the victim. Anyone has any thoughts about this murder… Kenmochi maybe?"

Shiena, who had been taken notes since the beginning, rose her head when she was called. Obviously she would ask her, after all, she was supposed to be the "serial killer specialist".

"I told you when we visited the crime scene, this murder feels like respect and love. I think it was some kind of declaration of love, the killer is romantic and passionate, with a twisted sense of what's right and wrong," Shiena said.

"The signature is the same as the ripper, do you think it's their work?"

Shiena hesitated before answering. She did think that the culprit was Jack, but she didn't want to explain why and certainly not about this murder being a message to her. She hated to lie, but for now, it was better to keep this thought to herself.

"I couldn't know for sure, the two profiles are really different. But I would say that this killer is also a young woman," Shiena replied.

"Could the culprit be the victim's lover? An ex?" an agent suddenly asked.

"It's a possibility," Shiena said.

"The victim didn't seem to have any lover, but her coworkers may simply not know," Chitaru added.

Shiena knew that it wasn't a lover. The culprit and victim had no link together, Yamada simply got unlucky to cross Jack's path and looked like Shiena. This thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"So we're looking for some crazy psycho," Tokaku said.

"The correct term would be psychotic," Shiena specified.

"Isn't this murder too clean to be the work of someone psychotic?" another agent said.

"Psychotic doesn't equal crazy murderer who slaughter people. Most of them aren't even killers. They are still humans capable of emotions, they can be sensitive and empathetic. It wouldn't be weird if the culprit didn't want to hurt the victim and therefore avoid to cause her pain, yet still killed her because they didn't understand that it was wrong. There way of thinking only make sense to them, they aren't living in the same reality as us. We shouldn't try to understand them from our neurotypical perspective, but try to put ourselves in their shoes."

"So you don't think the culprit is a psychopath," Chitaru said.

"They could be both, I'm not excluding any possibilities."

"Thank you for your input, Kenmochi. Is there anyone who wants to add something?"

Everyone remained quiet.

"Then let's stop here, you may return to your work. We'll try to reach for her family so see if she had any lover," Chitaru said.

Everyone rose up and returned to their desks, and so did Shiena, who still continued to have this bitter taste in her mouth that wouldn't go away no matter how much water she drank.

* * *

Otoya flipped the page as she continued to read this book. The story was starting to get interesting. She was so focus that she didn't notice the person approaching her. Otoya eventually saw some movement and lowered her book, to discover with surprise who it was.

"Oh, 'Kuzunoha'," Otoya said with a smirk. "What brings you here, without even knocking at the door like a decent human being?"

Nio looked stoic, but Otoya could see in her eyes that she was annoyed and perhaps even a little bit mad. Looked like it was going to be fun.

"What are you up to, Takechi?"

"Well, right now I'm reading Confession by Minato Kanae. Ii was suggested by a friend. It's pretty good so far, it's about-"

Nio suddenly slapped Otoya's hands and made her drop her book.

"Hey! Don't damage it, it's not mine!" Otoya replied. "Great, now I lost my page."

"You killed that woman, don't you?"

"Huh? Be more specific, I killed a lot of women. Do you mean the one you asked me to kill? Because I sure did. Still waiting for my payment by the way."

"Not her! Yamada Yuu!"

"Oh! Nah, no idea what you're talking about."

Nio suddenly grabbed Otoya by the collar and lift her, staring at her in a threatening way.

"Don't lie to me! We have ways to spy on you, we know you killed that woman. Why have you done that? You weren't supposed to kill anyone but your target!"

"I just thought it could cover my track. I wanted to mess with the police by committing a murder differently than my others. I even chose a victim that didn't fit at all my usual ones. The police and AKA must be scratching their heads right now."

"And thanks to that, that nosy agent Kenmochi Shiena nearly found you! I know you met her at your workplace, you dumbass. What if she finds out your true identity?"

"Relax, that ain't gonna happen. I'm going to mess up with her and push her on a wrong lead. It would be much easier to tamper with their investigation if I can talk to a member of their group. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Nio remained emotionless as she finally dropped Otoya, who fell back on her feet. She smirked as she leaned down to reach her book, but before she could, she received a violent knee in the face that made her fell to the floor. Blood poured out from her nose and before she could do anything, Nio was straddling her, slipping a knife under her throat.

"You work for us now, understand? Your days as an independent killer are done, you're a hitman now, you kill when we ask you to kill. Don't you even do something like that ever again, or else, well, let's say you won't like the consequences. We can make you go through a fate worse than death," Nio threatened.

Otoya simply nodded to that. Nio sighed and rose up, while Otoya wiped her bloody nose and stood up.

"Now, let's not be only negative. Use that as an opportunity to get close to Kenmochi and tamper with her investigation. But if she learns your true identity or if you suspect her to be suspicious of you… kill her."

Otoya froze when she heard those words.

"Killing… Kenmochi-san?"

"Yes, we can't take that risk. The higher-ups consider you as a valuable asset, and if you get caught by the police you might tell them about us. So you must kill her if she found out you're Jack the Ripper or about our guild. Or else… you'll be the one we'll kill. Understand?"

Otoya hesitated before answering, with a smile on her lips.

"Of course, I get it. If Kenmochi-san becomes a threat, I'll kill her with no hesitation. You have my words."

* * *

Shiena wasn't sure when she agreed to be there. Sitting alone at a table, she was waiting in a café for the person who invited her. She sighed, wondering if it was a mistake. But it was too late now, it would just be rude to leave now.

"I'm back~"

Shiena rose her head to see Otoya sat in front of her, two cups in her hand. She put on in front of Shiena and the other in front of herself and then simply smiled.

"You didn't put anything weird in my coffee, don't you?" Shiena asked, suspicious.

"Nope, just milk and sugar. If you don't trust me, I can take a sip first. It would be an indirect kiss~"

Shiena blushed a little at that comment.

"Don't… don't be ridiculous! Obviously you're not going to try to poison me in the middle of the day with so many witnesses!"

"Then why did you ask?"

"Because… urgh, never mind," Shiena replied as she took a sip of her coffee.

Otoya chuckled as she started to drink her own coffee.

"So, why did you invite me here? To make fun of me?" Shiena asked.

"Why would I do that? I just want to get to know you better, since we both share the same passion."

"I don't believe you. As if someone like you would be… interest in serial killers."

"Someone like me?" Otoya asked with curiosity in her voice.

"Yeah… you know… a pretty woman such as yourself shouldn't be interest by something as gloomy as killers."

"Aww, you think I'm pretty. Thank you~"

"I… didn't mean it as a compliment."

Otoya giggled at that comment.

"Then, how can I prove you that I'm being honest?"

"Hm… I don't know… name five Japanese serial killers," Shiena requested.

"Ōkubo Kiyoshi, Nakamura Seisaku, Kurita Genzō, Katsuta Kiyotaka and Kakehi Chisako," Otoya replied with no hesitation.

"... okay… than name five non-Japanese female serial killers, excluding Jackie."

"Aileen Wuornos, Juana Barraza, Jane Toppan, Gesche Gottfried and Dorothea Puente."

"Fine, you know how to use google, congratulation."

"Did I pass your test?" Otoya asked with a soft smile.

"... sure. Whatever. Why are you so interested in serial killers anyway?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Shiena winced. She really didn't want to answer that question. It would reveal some darkness within her heart that she didn't want to show others, especially not a stranger.

"No reason in particular, I just think they are fascinating. Their way of thinking, their motivations, their past, I'm just curious to understand what could have led them to become murderers," Shiena replied.

"I see. I suppose it's the same for me. I like to compare myself to them, I often wonder if I could have become a serial killer myself if my life had been different," Otoya said.

She seemed sincere, Shiena didn't feel like she was lying. Maybe she truly was a serial killer enthusiast after all.

"Let's agree on something. Female serial killers are far more interesting than their male counterparts, right?" Otoya suddenly said.

"Oh, definitely. Male serial killers are all the same, they hate women. But female ones usually have more complex reasons behind their killing that makes them far more interesting."

"Like Jackie?" Otoya asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, exactly! Her murders, they aren't… murders in her eyes. They are art, flower arrangements. It feels like she views women as the same as flowers, so she has no problem killing them, just like most people have no problem with cutting a flower."

"Hm, I can understand her point. As a florist, flowers must be cut when they are blooming, otherwise, they will simply fade and lose their beauty."

Shiena took the time to think about what Otoya said and it suddenly gave her an idea.

"... that's it! I get it now! Jackie, she… she killed beautiful women because… she wants to preserve their beauty somehow. Beauty is something important to Jackie, it's her whole motivation to kill. There must be a deep reason why she gives so much important to beauty, enough to make her kill for it."

"Hehe, maybe you're right. Jackie seems to be your favourite serial killer, am I right?"

"Well, I can't deny that," Shiena said, blushing as she took another sip of coffee.

"If you could, would you fuck her?"

Shiena nearly spat out her coffee.

"W-What?! Of… of course not! Why… why would I ever want to… do that… with a psychopathic killer!?" Shiena exclaimed.

"Well, maybe she's hot."

"... she probably is. But still, outer beauty means nothing if you're ugly in the inside. What matters is inner beauty," Shiena replied.

"Inner beauty huh… interesting."

"I'm not… that type of serial killer enthusiast… I don't fantasize about murderers, I'm just fascinated by them, that's all."

"Funny how the only reason why you wouldn't it's because she's a killer and not because she's a woman. Are you gay perhaps?" Otoya asked.

Shiena felt her heart accelerate when she heard that question and her face felt so warm.

"I… that's none of your business!"

"I'll take that as a yes. If you were straight, you would have no reason to hide it."

"... okay I'm gay, are you happy now?"

"Well yes, since I'm gay myself."

"Yeah, I know."

"Oh? How do you know?" Otoya asked, intrigued.

Shiena realized that she shouldn't have said that, now she'll have to admit the embarrassing truth.

"... I saw it… on your Facebook profile," Shiena admit.

"Ah. Looks like you got the same idea as me. Did you like what you see?" Otoya teased.

"Your profile… is really mundane."

"Haha, I suppose it is. I don't really share my passion in public, it just doesn't fit my image. People are judgmental, I have a lot of friends who wouldn't accept me for who I am."

Shiena could somewhat relate to Otoya. She didn't have many friends because people didn't accept her for who she was. Otoya would be the same as her if she didn't decide to hide her true self to others. What differentiated them was that Otoya was conventionally attractive, society expected her to be 'normal' and fit, while plain girl like Shiena didn't have that social pressure on their shoulders. People expected someone like her to have weird hobbies, but not a pretty girl like Otoya. So Shiena should understand why Otoya had to keep it a secret and sympathize with her, even if their situation was different.

"People can be assholes sometimes. You can like whatever you like, it's none of their business," Shiena said.

"You're right, I like what I'm doing, and I won't let anyone stop me," Otoya replied with an enigmatic smile.

Shiena finished her coffee and looked at her watch. Her break was almost over.

"I'll have to go now, it was… nice to talk with you," Shiena said as she got up.

"Same here! It's so nice to talk with you, Kenmochi-san. You should come over to my house sometimes, there's something I would like to show you," Otoya said as she rose up too.

"Oh, uh, sure. Let's do that next time."

Otoya smiled and suddenly hugged Shiena, who felt like her heart was about to come out of her chest and her body burning. Otoya then released her, gave her a little pat on the shoulder, before exiting the café, leaving Shiena in doubt about her own feelings.

* * *

Shiena turned off the light and let herself fell in her bed, exhausted, before she put the blanket over her. Today's work was pretty demanding, she had to make a report about the latest victim. She kind of missed her old job as a computer technician, where she was her own boss, working at her own pace. But working as an agent was much rewarding, she felt like she was doing something good for society, helping to catch dangerous criminals. She was basically doing a job that was getting her closer to her passion. And she had a new… friend? Someone who shared her passion and with who she can talk about serial killers, someone… beautiful and gay. Everything was for the better, right?

Then why did she have this bitter taste in her mouth?

Too tired to think about it, Shiena closed her eyes and fell asleep.

_Darkness was surrounding her. The only source of light was coming from a rectangle-shaped object that Shiena identified to be a mirror. She got closer to it to see her reflection. She discovered a brunette woman with glasses, plain-looking with casual clothing. Just like her…_

_But it wasn't her._

_It was Yamada Yuu._

_Shiena tried to move her hand and Yamada imitated her. She then tried various facial expressions, all replicated by her doppelganger. But then, strange red spots started to appear on the mirror, until it totally covered it._

_Blood._

_Shiena felt something wet on her hands. She looked down and raised her arms, to discover that her hands were tainted in red._

_She had blood on her hands._

_Then everything around her changed. Yamada was under her, lying on a bed, apparently sleeping, while Shiena had her hands around her neck, slowly strangling her…_

Shiena woke up in a jolt. She sat up, her body all sweaty and her breathing jerky. What a terrible nightmare she just had. It took her a few minutes to calm down. She pondered about this awful dream, and finally understood why she had this bitter taste in her mouth.

She basically killed Yamada Yuu.

Well, not directly. But she got killed for her, as a message for her. If Shiena wasn't tracking Jack, Yamada would have never been killed. This poor woman's only "crime" was that she looked like Shiena. Even if it was indirectly and that she didn't mean to, this woman died because of her. This was the consequence of her actions, the bitter taste was the weight of her sins.

Shiena got up from her bed and went to the bathroom, splashing water on her face to cool down. When she raised her head and looked in the mirror she jolted, she felt like Yamada was staring at her.

But it was only her own reflection.

Shiena took a deep breath to calm down. Yamada might have been killed because of her, she wasn't the one who killed her. She never wished her death, it was all 100% Jack's decision. She simply couldn't have predicted that Jack would do something like that, this was totally out of her control.

"_This woman got killed because of Jackie, not me. She's the one who has her blood on her hands,_" Shiena told herself to comfort herself.

But the weight of guilt was heavy on her shoulders. Shiena tried to drink a glass of water to wash out this bitter taste, but an aftertaste remained in her mouth. It only served as fuel to her determination to catch the serial killer, it was a reminder of how monstrous she really was.

Shiena wanted to stop Jack no matter what so that nobody else dies by her hands and to get rid of that guilt who was eating her from the inside.

* * *

**If you're sensitive I highly recommend to not google those serial killers to avoid triggering content.**


	9. Family

**warning: implied sexual content.**

* * *

Today was a pretty calm day at work. The investigation regarding Jack the Ripper was still going on, but without new evidence or murders, things were getting slow these days. It felt like they were simply waiting for another woman to drop dead so they can find more clues. Shiena hated that, she didn't want to wait for someone else to die, she wanted to catch Jack before she made another victim. She was rereading all the reports and precious clues, hoping that she would manage to suddenly connect the dots and find the answer. She felt like it was right under her nose but that for some reason, she couldn't see it. She was convinced that she was getting closer to Jack but that she simply couldn't grasp her.

Shiena looked at the hour and noticed that it was lunchtime. She sighed and got up, ready to go eat, but as she was about to leave, she noticed Mahiru who was alone, looking nervous. Shiena was tempted to ignore her and just go eat, but she couldn't help but be worried about her. She decided to go see her.

"Banba? Is everything alright?" Shiena asked with concern.

Mahiru jolted when she talked to her and looked away.

"Ah… Sumireko-san… had to go to a special meeting with someone. I couldn't… go with her," Mahiru mumbled.

"Oh… so you're all alone for lunch. Hm… how about… we get lunch together?" Shiena proposed.

Mahiru seemed surprised and hesitating before she finally looked at Shiena.

"I… uh… okay," Mahiru shyly accepted.

"Great! Where do you want to eat? There's a nice café down the street-"

"No… too many people. I usually eat… in Sumireko-san's office. You can join me… if you want."

"Oh… Are you sure Hanabusa-san will be okay with me going there?"

"If you're with me it's fine."

"Okay then. Let me just grab something at the vending machine."

Mahiru nodded and went to Sumireko's office, while Shiena headed for the vending machine. She was glad that Mahiru accepted to have lunch with her, she wanted to get closer to her. That was a great opportunity to try bonding with her more.

Shiena looked at the option in the vending machine and went for a ham sandwich. She paid for it and headed for Sumireko's office, where Mahiru was waiting for her, sitting at the little table in the room. Shiena joined her and sat down. She noticed that Mahiru had a bento for lunch.

"Oh, a bento! Did you make it yourself?" Shiena asked.

"N-No… Sumireko-san… did it for me."

"Huh? Why would Hanabusa do that?"

"She… she actually liked to cook, and she's quite good at it. She proposed… to do my bento."

"Ah, interesting…"

Shiena really wondered why a boss would bother making lunch for one of her employees, but decided that it was probably none of her business. Obviously, there was something going on between Sumireko and Mahiru, but it didn't concern her. Asking too much about it would be prying. Shiena started to eat and so did Mahiru.

"Hey, how did you start working here?" Shiena asked.

"Oh, um, well I… uh… I used to work in a maid café and Sumireko-san… was one of our customers. She proposed to hire me at her workplace and I accepted. She hired me as… her personal assistant."

"Ah, I see…"

Shiena found it strange that the boss of a secret agency would hire some waitress as her personal assistant, but she didn't see why Mahiru would be lying. If there was anything odd it wasn't with her but with Sumireko, not that Shiena wanted to contest her choice, she was really happy to work with Mahiru.

"And you? How did you… end up working here?" Mahiru asked.

"Oh, uh, well I'm a serial killer and female psychopath specialist, apparently, so that's why I got hired. But before that, I was working as a computer technician," Shiena replied.

"So you know a lot about… serial killers…"

"Well, I don't want to brag too much, but yeah, I do know a lot. Let's say that serial killers are… a passion of mine."

"It's… a really special passion. How did it… start?"

That was a little bit personal and Shiena didn't feel comfortable revealing part of her past to Mahiru, but she still wanted to give at least an answer.

"It just started with me reading newspapers about serial killers and being curious about them, wanting to know more about their motivation and what led them to that kind of life. Then I decided to take classes about criminal psychology to learn more about them and that's how I got where I am now."

"Hm… I see."

Mahiru took a bite from her lunch and Shiena was worried that she might have frightened her. Not everyone was comfortable with serial killer stuff, but at the same time, Mahiru worked in an agency tracking them, so she must at least be used to hear about them.

"What about you? Any passion?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Oh, um… I like… sewing," Mahiru replied.

"That's nice! Like, you make clothes?"

"Yes, I really like… sewing clothes, but sometimes I also make… plushies."

"That's so cool! Do you want to become a designer?"

"I did think of it… but I'm fine working for Sumireko-san. As long as I can make my own clothes, I'm satisfied. But that would be nice… making clothes for others and see them wear them."

"Well in that case, maybe you could sew me an outfit? Only if you want, of course."

Suddenly, Mahiru's eyes were full of sparkles.

"I… I would love too…! If you let me."

"Of course, I'm sure it will be great."

"I'm not… that good… but I'll do my best…!"

Shiena smiled, glad that she managed to make Mahiru happy. She was also curious about what kind of clothes she would make her.

"Hey, how's your relationship with your family?" Shiena suddenly asked before realizing that it might be a little bit too personal.

Mahiru looked tensed for a moment before she looked down.

"I… I'm on good terms with my parents. They have always been… really supportive of me. I… I also have a sibling, Shinya…"

"Oh, that's good! What about your sibling? How are they?"

"Shinya is… really kind to me, always protecting me. I really like them."

"I'm glad!"

"What about you… and your family?"

"Huh… I'm not really on bad terms with them. I just… don't talk that much to my parents. And I'm an only child."

Shiena didn't want to talk too much about her family to not awake some bad memories. She regretted bringing up the subject of family.

"Do you have any friends? Old classmates?" Shiena suddenly asked to change the subject.

"I have… Sumireko-san and… Shinya, as friends. I never really had friends in… school."

"Oh… same here. Most of my friends were people I met online. People can be so cruel in high school."

"You.. you're right."

Shiena wondered if Mahiru had been bullied too in high school. If so, she could sympathize with her more. She finished to eat her lunch and noticed the time.

"Ah, it's almost time to go back to work. Thanks for having lunch with me," Shiena said as she rose up.

"No, thank you… for staying with me," Mahiru replied.

"No problem, I enjoyed my time with you. See you soon!"

Shiena left the office and on her way to her desk, she met Sumireko.

"Oh, Kenmochi-san. Did I just see you coming out of my office? Were you looking for me?"

"Oh, huh, no. Banba… just wanted some company for lunch. Sorry."

"Ah, worry not, it is okay. I am glad that Mahiru-san made a friend," Sumireko said with a smile. "Now if you excuse me, I have work to do."

"S-Same here," Shiena said.

Sumireko headed for her office while Shiena returned to her desk, where she discovered that someone seemed to have been waiting for her.

"Ichinose?" Shiena said.

"Shiena-san! I was looking for you, I didn't know where you were," Haru said.

"I was having lunch with Banba."

"Oh, nice! Hey, I wanted to know… would you like to go to the karaoke with me this weekend? I'll try to see if Hitsugi-chan can too. Maybe you could invite Mahiru-san."

Shiena didn't want to and she doubted Mahiru would too. Especially not if Hitsugi was there, she had a bad feeling about that girl, something felt odd with her. And that wasn't only because she was Chitaru's wife and Shiena was jealous.

"I… I'll think about it, thanks for proposing," Shiena said, trying to look polite.

"Tell me soon if you can or not!" Haru said cheerfully as she walked away, going back to Tokaku's desk.

Shiena sighed, wondering how she could get away from that. She had no interest in going to karaoke with Haru and Hitsugi. Well, that was a problem for another day, now she needed to focus on her work.

She sat back at her desk and continued her investigation, hoping that she can find more clues about Jack.

* * *

Shiena was nervously standing on the porch of a rather small house, hesitating to knock at the door. She took a deep breath and as she was about to knock, she noticed the doorbell and rang instead. She waited for a few seconds, feeling more and more stressed, until the door finally opened.

"Oh, Kenmochi-san. I wasn't sure if you would come," Otoya said with a charming smile.

Shiena wondered how she could be that damned attractive all the time. She looked so sexy in her flannel and jeans. Did she dress well all the time, even in her own house? Her fashion style was rather casual, nothing too fashionable, but it only made her even more attractive, it gave her an impression of being accessible rather than out of reach. She simply looked cool while being pretty, unlike those typical popular girls that Shiena found superficial and haughty.

"Are you going to stand there staring at me or are you going to come in?" Otoya said, joking lightly.

"Oh, sorry!" Shiena said, blushing a little from embarrassment.

Shiena entered the house, feeling a little bit shy. She removed her shoes and timidly looked around. The house was decorated rather modestly, really clean and ordered.

"Surprised? Were you expecting something else?" Otoya asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah… I was expecting more flowers," Shiena admitted.

"Oh. I don't like to keep flowers. I can't bear to see them fade and rot. I much prefer making flower arrangements with them and selling them ~"

"Ah. Make sense. Huh, you said you wanted to show me something?"

"Right. It's in my room… uh… follow me."

Otoya looked somewhat hesitating as she walked away, Shiena following her. They reached a door that Otoya opened before she let Shiena entered the room.

It was so messy. There were clothes everywhere, her bed was full of those, as well as bags, a tissue box, a music player, books, a game console and even some trash. Shiena was not expecting such a sight.

"Takechi… ?"

"I… I don't really like cleaning. To be frank, I hate that," Otoya admitted with some shame in her eyes and a weak smile.

"But the rest of the house is so clean…"

"Yeah… the thing is, since I hate cleaning, I always put back anything I used at the right place as soon as I'm done with it so I don't end up with a mess to clean. But in my bedroom… I tend to be too lax so I end up being neglectful. Sorry about the mess," Otoya apologies, seeming embarrassed.

"Oh, you don't have to apologize, I really don't mind. My apartment isn't the cleanest too. But still, how do you sleep at night with all that stuff on your bed?"

"I just toss it on the floor when I go to sleep. Anyway, here's what I wanted to show you."

Otoya grabbed some binder on her bed and handed it to Shiena. With some apprehension, she opened it, and discovered a dozen clipped newspaper articles glued on the pages. Shiena skimmed through the binder, realizing that those articles were all about the same subject.

"They are all about Jackie…" Shiena said.

"I collected those since her very first murder. I think I got every article that mentioned her, even the online ones. I printed them and added them to my collection. As you can see, I'm quite the scissorer," Otoya explained with a shy smirk.

Shiena took a closer look at the content of the binder. This couldn't have been done in only a couple of days, it had to have taken months, or even years, to build. It seemed to prove that Otoya was honest, she really was a serial killer enthusiast.

"Did you make a lot of these?" Shiena asked, impressed.

"Not recently, Jackie was simply special to me. But I used to make more of then as a teenager, and hiding them under my bed. My uncle thought I was hiding porn, and when he discovered my binders, I'm sure he wished that it was just porn."

"Your uncle? What about your parents?" Shiena asked.

Shiena regretted her question when she noticed the look of sadness on Otoya's face.

"They… died when I was a child," Otoya answered.

"Oh… I'm sorry… my condolence."

"It's fine, it was such a long time ago. At least I had my uncle and aunt who took care of me. I think I still have a picture of them."

Shiena felt a lot of sympathy for Otoya. She'll never know how it felt to lose her parents, but she could imagine the pain and feel bad for her. She really regretted bringing up the subject. Otoya was looking in one of her drawer and came back, holding a picture.

"Here, a picture of me and my parents," Otoya said.

Shiena took a look at the picture. It was representing two adults and one child. The woman was really beautiful, with long bright purple hair and light blue eyes, while the man was quite handsome himself, with deep black hair and forest green eyes. The couple was smiling, while their child looked… emotionless. Otoya wasn't smiling on the picture and was simply staring at the camera with a dead-inside look. She really looked different than the cheerful and sociable adult she was now. Maybe she was just tired the day this picture was taken?

"Your mother was really beautiful," Shiena commented.

"Yeah… she sure was… and will always be," Otoya replied.

"You really look like her."

"Oh? Is that your way to tell me I'm beautiful?" Otoya gently teased.

"... You… you are beautiful, that's a fact," Shiena said, looking away while blushing.

"Hehe, thank you. Though I always thought I looked more like my father."

"Hm… more like a mix of your two parents."

"I see. Well, that makes sense. Hm, I wonder what Shiena-san's parents look like~"

Shiena was taken by surprise by this question. Her parents… she honestly didn't want to think about them. But since she felt like she pried on Otoya's past, she at least owed her to answer her question.

"I think I got pictures of them on my phone, wait," Shiena said as she checked her gallery on her phone, but found no pictures of them. She then decided to just go on their Facebook profiles and showed Otoya the picture of an average-looking man with dark brown hair, brown eyes and glasses. "This is my father."

"Ah." Otoya simply replied.

Shiena changed profile and showed her the picture of a rather pretty woman with wavy chestnut hair and brown eyes.

"And this is my mother."

"Oh, she's quite beautiful~" Otoya commented with a smile.

"Yeah, she is… I definitely look more like my dad than my mom…"

"Huh, no way, you're way cuter than him!" Otoya protested.

Shiena's cheeks immediately became warmer and her heart skipped a beat.

"I… I'm not cute!" Shiena replied.

"Sure you are~" Otoya teased as she suddenly played with Shiena's braid. "But your bangs are too long, they hide your pretty face. I could cut them for you, in addition to being a florist, I'm also an independent hairdresser."

"I… I like my bangs, they allow me to hide- I just like them that way!" Shiena replied.

Shiena recoiled a little, while Otoya let go of her hair, still smiling.

"Very well then, but if you change your mind, let me know. I may even give you a discount."

Shiena didn't reply anything about that, she simply wanted to change the subject. She didn't want to expose her insecurities to Otoya, someone she barely knew. Otoya remained quiet for a moment before her smile turned enigmatic.

"Hey, why your parents have different surnames?" Otoya suddenly asked.

Shiena wasn't expecting this question. She didn't think Otoya would notice such detail, but now that she saw, she felt obligated to give her an explanation.

"My parents… got divorced when I was really young. My mother just took back her maiden name," Shiena briefly explained, not wanting to talk too much about this.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Otoya replied with a look of remorse and apparent sympathy.

"It's okay, it happened so long ago, I'm over it-"

Much to her surprise, Otoya suddenly hugged her. A warm and comforting embrace. Despite her initial surprise, Shiena didn't reject her and even hugged her back. She was craving for comfort, but she felt selfish. Her parents only divorced while Otoya's parents were dead, she should be the one comforting her, not the other way around. She always had a bad feeling about Otoya, she felt like she was a weirdo and arrogant, but the more she spent with her, she realized how kind and empathetic she could be. She regretted doubting her and wished to be friends with her.

Shiena eventually broke the hug, blushing madly were avoiding Otoya's gaze, too embarrassed by her own conflicted feelings.

"So… why did you show me that binder?" Shiena asked, trying to look nonchalant.

"Well, I wanted to let you borrow it, you know, for your 'investigation'" Otoya replied with a wink.

"... I'm actually investigating and part of the police," Shiena replied.

"Yeah right, and I'm Jackie!" Otoya replied.

They both went silent for a moment before Otoya burst into giggles.

"As if!" Otoya exclaimed, still laughing.

Realizing it was just a joke, Shiena laughed too, even though she wasn't that amused. Otoya didn't believe her to be part of the police, but maybe it was for the best. After all, she was part of a secret agency, she probably shouldn't tell normal civilians about her investigation. It was better to just act like a serial killer enthusiast who was investigating for her own personal curiosity and passion.

"Well, thanks for the binder, that may be really useful for… my 'investigation'," Shiena replied.

"You're welcome, I'm glad to help a fellow serial killer enthusiast!" Otoya said cheerfully.

Shiena's phone suddenly started to vibrate, indicating that she had received a message text. Shiena looked at it and sighed when she saw the content and who it was from.

"What is it?" Otoya asked with some concern in her voice.

"Ah, just some coworker asking me again if I can go to a karaoke with her this weekend. Honestly, I don't want to, especially since she's gonna bring her friend that I don't really like."

"Oh… Well I really like karaoke, so maybe I could come with you? Perhaps it would make this more bearable for you."

"Hm… maybe. It's not like a dislike karaoke, I do enjoy… singing, but I don't want to be alone with Ichinose and Kirigaya."

"I love singing too! Then bring me with you, you won't be alone with them~"

Shiena hesitated a little. Karaoke with Haru and Hitsugi didn't really interest her, but if Otoya was there, perhaps it would be an enjoyable experience.

"You're right. Ichinose did want me to invite my friend, so she shouldn't mind if I bring you with me."

"Yay! Then it's decided! Karaoke with Shiena-san~"

Shiena was happy to see Otoya so enthusiastic about the idea of doing something with her this weekend. She wished she could be alone with her, but at the same time, she didn't want to be rude to Haru.

"Hey, how much of a good singer are you?" Shiena asked.

Otoya grinned proudly.

"Just like an idol~"

* * *

Otoya put a foot in the water to test the temperature and was satisfied by the level of warmth. She got in the tub and immersed herself in the water, appreciating the soothing heat warming up her body.

Not that it could warm up her cold and frozen heart.

Otoya let out a sigh of satisfaction as she lazed in the bath, enjoying the appeasing warmth to relax. It was nice to have little moments by herself just to loosen up and simply enjoy herself.

Today had been a really entertaining day. She had so much fun with Shiena. Giving her that binder she so carefully made little by little with all those articles about her work would worth it. It was hilarious how she left clues right under her nose of her true identity, yet Shiena didn't catch them. Until now she had been such a smart and clever opponent, why was she being so clueless all of the sudden even though what she was looking for was right in front of her, in reach for her to grasp it? Otoya smiled to herself when she found the answer.

She was simply just smarter than Shiena. Sure, Shiena was an intelligent woman, but she wasn't at her level. Otoya still considered her as her worthy opponent, or rather, decently entertaining adversary. If anything, Shiena's obliviousness was only making things more interesting to her. She will be able to witness in person Shiena's attempt to uncover her identity, giggling inside at the thought of fooling her, toying with her like she was her little marionette, and most importantly, savour Shiena's love for her.

Little by little, she'll lead her to the right path, dropping hints and clues from time to time and observing how Shiena will react while still deceiving her into making her think she was a normal and friendly girl. She wanted to see how long she could keep that act, how long she could manipulate Shiena until she found out the truth, she wanted to test Shiena's intelligence and love for her, see if she was really worthy of her respect. But if Shiena succeeded in uncovering her identity, then Otoya will have to honour her promise to Nio.

She'll have to kill Shiena.

Wouldn't that be a great reward? For a girl who was so obsessed with her, wouldn't it be her ultimate fantasy to become her victim and die by the hand of the object of her fascination? Well, weather Shiena wanted it or not, Otoya will kill her if she finds out her identity.

Somehow, that thought left some kind of bitter taste in her mouth.

It wasn't remorse or guilt, God knows she never felt those emotions in her entire life, more like… a feeling of waste or dissatisfaction. Like it would be a shame to kill Shiena, a waste of potential and pleasure, she felt like she could get so much more from her.

Since when did she want to allow a flower in her house again?

As a teenager, Otoya used to keep flowers with her, but she grew tired of seeing them fade and rot. She didn't want to see the things she found pretty become ugly, she much preferred cutting pretty flowers and transform them into beautiful arrangements.

The same goes with beautiful women.

Then why she had that interest towards Shiena that seemed to go beyond beauty? Shiena was far from being ugly, but she wasn't particularly pretty either. If she had to be compared to a flower, Shiena would be a bud. She didn't even start to bloom and may never. There was no point in cutting her, yet she shouldn't have any value. A bud was useless, right? Yet it could have the potential to bloom into the most beautiful flower. Shiena was already an adult, but perhaps she could grow older and more beautiful? She was already in her twenties, that was unlikely. Women started to fade away in their early thirties after all. She shouldn't be at her prettiest right now, and she was kinda bland.

Really, Otoya couldn't find any reason why Shiena would be valuable to her other than being entertaining for now. As soon as she'll lose that purpose, then there shouldn't be any issues with killing her. There was nothing wrong with getting rid of an obsolete toy.

Yet, that bud remained in her mind as her hand slowly moved towards hers, and this bath ended up being more pleasant than initially planned.

* * *

**Otoya, standing in front of Shiena, being suspicious as hell.**

**Shiena: Hm, I feel like Jackie is right under my nose, but I can't grasp her**

**That shows that even someone smart can become dense if they start thinking with their genitals instead of their brain.**

**Seeya next time!**


	10. The Line Between Love and Hate

**Hey there! Two chapters in a row, it's simply because I forgot to update last week. Sorry about that ^^'**

**warning: description of killing.**

* * *

Shiena was reading carefully the newspapers in the binder. Well, rereading them. She would be reading them until she got something out of them, she was determined to find out new clues regarding Jack.

She already had read most of those articles, except the first ones. Those murders happened a couple of years ago, before Shiena got her interest in Jack. But still, she remembered looking for old articles regarding Jack, and she never found those. Well, maybe she saw them, but never associate them with Jack.

Shiena looked in the database to find more information about those murders. The first victim, according to the binder, was a young woman in her twenties, she was found dead in her living room, stabbed multiple time in the chest and ripped open with a kitchen knife, still clothed. A blood trail was present, starting from the kitchen, as well as a broken cup with coffee spilled on the floor.

Shiena tried to reconstruct the scene in her head. The victim invited the killer in her house, and she was making them coffee in the kitchen. The killer then grabbed a kitchen knife and when the victim was holding the cup, stabbed her. The victim fell on the floor and tried to escape by crawling, but probably had no strength left when she reached the living room. Then the killer finished her off by repetitively stabbing her and ripping her open.

Was that really Jack's work? Shiena didn't see her signature in the report, the flower she left in her victims' hair. This murder seemed so… impulsive? No, not totally. If felt like it wasn't planned, like a last-second decision. The killer didn't even bring their own weapon, they used a knife belonging to the victim. There was no doubt that before meeting the victim, they didn't intend to commit murder. It didn't seem to fit Jack, who seemed to carefully choose her victims and plan her crimes.

Reading more in the report, Shiena discovered that there were unknown fingerprints on one of the drawers. The killer was probably covered in blood, they may have stolen clothes to avoid walking all bloody. That did look like Jack, as well as the ripping part.

Shiena decided to trust Otoya. If she felt like it was Jack's work, then maybe it was. It was up to Shiena to discover how it could fit her.

This murder happened years ago, it was possible that it was Jack's first murder. She was younger and inexperienced, explaining why this crime looked somewhat impulsive. She didn't plan this murder, it was an opportunistic murder. She happened to be invited by that woman and, when she was in her house, got curious about the idea of killing her. Without the capacity of empathy or feeling remorse, nothing stopped her from committing this horrible action. This wasn't originally planned, but it wasn't impulsive either. She thought before acting, she took a decision, and chose to kill that woman. And then, she enjoyed seeing her crawling on the floor, she waited before killing her to savour her fear, just like a cat playing with its food. Just like a bug trapped in a spider web trying desperately to escape.

That seemed like a plausible possibility. Jack's first murder, her first step as a killer. This crime was attributed to a potential ex-boyfriend, but given the missing clothes, Shiena knew it was the work of a woman, and with the ripping aspect, it fitted Jack's killing. The more the thought about it, the more she was convinced that it was indeed Jack's doing.

"_Takechi… she's not half bad after all, finding murders that even the police didn't attribute to Jackie._"

Shiena continued to read, most of the other articles were attribute to Jack and followed her modus operandi, there was no doubt they were her works. Shiena didn't find much new information, except her potential first murder, which was valuable information to her, helping her to understand Jack better.

"Shiena-san? What's that?"

Shiena jolted and turned back, to discover Haru, who was looking at the binder with curiosity. Shiena immediately closed it.

"N-Nothing!" Shiena replied.

"Those articles… did you make that yourself?" Haru asked.

So she had the time to see what it was. Shiena couldn't tell her where she got it, but she still had to answer something that was convincing.

"Y-Yeah… for… research purpose," Shiena replied.

"Oh, I see! You're quite the hardworking type huh, so diligent in your work," Haru complimented.

"Thanks…"

Shiena put the binder away.

"I saw your message, you want to bring a friend to the karaoke?" Haru asked.

"Oh, yeah… her name is Takechi Otoya."

"Takechi Otoya… oh, the girl from the Facebook profile you were looking at!"

Shiena sincerely wished she would have forgotten about that.

"Yeah… her."

"So you really were friends! She's so pretty, I can't wait to meet her!" Haru said with enthusiasm. "So that will be me, you and Takechi-san."

"What about… Kirigaya?"

"Oh, unfortunately she's busy this weekend. Hey, have you tried to invite Mahiru-san? Oh, she's there… Mahiru-san! Come here please."

Mahiru, who was passing by, jolted. She then joined them with some hesitation.

"Y-Yes… Ichinose-san?" she asked nervously.

"I'm going to the karaoke with Shiena-san and a friend of hers, wanna come too?" Haru asked with a bright and confident smile.

Mahiru looked quite stressed and uncertain, glancing from time to time at Shiena.

"You don't have to if you-" Shiena tried to say.

"I… I'll go," Mahiru finally decided.

Shiena was surprised. She was convinced she would have refused. Haru seemed delighted by her response.

"Awesome!" Haru exclaimed happily. "I'll text you to tell you the hour. I have to go back to Tokaku-san, bye!"

And as fast as she arrived, Haru left. Shiena sighed before she turned to Mahiru.

"You really don't have to force yourself if you don't want to," Shiena said.

"But… I do want it…"

"Oh. Well then, there's no problem. I'm looking forward to sing with you."

"Same…"

"Mahiru-san? The reunion is about to start," Sumireko called her.

"... coming!" Mahiru replied. "I have to go…"

"It's fine, I have work to do anyway."

Mahiru smiled weakly as she joined Sumireko, heading for her office.

Finally, everything was for the better. Hitsugi wouldn't be there and Mahiru was coming, Shiena will be with two people she genuinely wanted as friends. Definitely, she was looking forward to this weekend.

* * *

Basket in hand, Otoya was trying to pick the best vegetables from the bunch. It wasn't her usual grocery stores, but there wasn't what she needed for tonight's dinner in her usual one. She got what she needed here, so it worth the few extra miles to come here. She looked at her grocery list and saw that there one last item to get before she would be done. As she was heading for the right alley, she noticed to people that looked familiar.

Yes, she knew them.

Otoya smirked as she discreetly followed them in an alley. It was pretty late so there weren't that many people in the store, and no one was in the alley.

"Which one do you want to pick, Kouko-chan?"

"This one seems better Suzu. There are fewer calories."

Stealthily, Otoya got closer to them, until she was right behind them.

"Good evening, Sister, obaa-chan. Or should I rather say Kouko-san and Suzu-san?"

Both of them turned back and faced Otoya, looking uneased when they recognized her. They stood still, both on their guard.

"Jackie…," Suzu said.

"Doing the grocery together? Are you like, living together? What kind of relationship do you have?"

"That's none of your business!" Kouko replied with hostility.

"No need to be so wary of me, our meeting here is merely a coincidence. I'm just doing my grocery, just like you," Otoya said with a soft smile, showing her basket.

Kouko and Suzu glanced at each under, uncertain and even worried, which amused Otoya.

"Excuse us for being cautious, but you can't blame us from being wary when we meet a killer," Suzu replied.

"Ah? Aren't you both killers too?" Otoya questioned, intrigued.

"We are, but we aren't serial killers," Suzu specified.

Otoya remained quiet for a moment, while Suzu smiled in such a sly way. She looked satisfied, maybe she liked to have taken Otoya by surprise by revealing that?

"What do you mean by that?" Otoya replied, playing the innocent.

"Jackie, it's for Jack, right? As in Jack the Ripper of the 21st century," Suzu continued.

"Hm, I really don't understand what you mean."

"I had a feeling about you when you talked about killing in an intimate way. I knew you weren't the typical hitman," Suzu began with a smirk. "I was curious about you, the man I had to kill was affiliated to a specific company. So I look up to see who else died from this place, they all match the others' killing method, except one. This one was attributed to the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. Jack, Jackie, killing with intimacy, lust murders… It wasn't so hard to connect the dots."

Otoya grinned. She liked that girl. She was smart, sly, wise and full of confidence. She wouldn't go as far as to say she was impressed, but she sure did feel a certain amount of respect towards Suzu.

"Aren't you afraid then? If I'm truly Jack the Ripper, what guarantee you that I won't kill you?" Otoya replied with a sinister smile.

"Please, we're part of the same group. If you kill me, you'll get into deep trouble. You're not stupid, you may like to take risks, but you wouldn't purposefully put yourself in danger needlessly," Suzu replied.

Someone passed in the alley and they all became silent, waiting for the person to be done and leave. Definitely, Suzu was an intelligent woman, really logical and rational. She would probably be an interesting partner, someone challenging and entertaining, but she wasn't as interesting as Shiena. Suzu probably understood her, but she seemed to be neutral towards her as if she harboured no specific feelings for her. She lacked the special love Shiena had, what made her so interesting and valuable. Still, Suzu could be an interesting 'friend' to have.

"You can call me Takechi," Otoya said with a friendly smile.

Otoya knew they wouldn't report her to the police. They wouldn't risk getting caught themselves, they must know she would certainly denounce them if they did that. She could have lie about her name, but she felt like Suzu would have guessed. Anyway, isn't it honestly the first step towards friendship? Otoya laughed internally at that thought, finding it ironic how she of all people would think about that.

"Oh, is that your real name?" Suzu asked.

"Of course, I have no reason to lie to my allies. I know part of your name so it's only fair if you know mine too. If you don't mind, maybe we could go to a café together? Well, with both of you."

"As if we would want to have coffee with a psychopath like you," Kouko replied sharply.

"Ouch, calling me a psychopath, that hurt," Otoya said with a fake pained expression, still smiling softly.

Suzu chuckled at that comment.

"You're a funny person, Takechi-san. We'll think about it. Now if you excuse me, we have groceries to finish."

"Oh, same here. It was nice talking to both of you, seeya!" Otoya said cheerfully as she walked away, heading for the alley she was looking for in the first place.

Suzu was definitely an interesting person, talking with her more surely looked like a good way to pass time and have some fun. Kouko was a little bit problematic, she clearly didn't like Otoya, but she looked like the type who is fun to tease.

She hoped they will accept her offer, she really looked forward to spending more time with them.

* * *

Shiena looked at her watch. She got too excited about today's event that she arrived a little bit too early. She glanced at her outfit. She was wearing one of the t-shirts she bought when she went to the mall with Haru and Hitsugi. She wasn't used to wearing something that looked trendy. She felt like some people had glanced at her, and she was worried that it might be because she looked ridiculous. A plain girl such as herself wearing that type of clothes, maybe she should have just worn her usual hoodie.

She nervously ran a hand through her hair. She let it untied, feeling more confident, though now she was having doubt. Her hair was so frizzy, she always braids them because it was so much easier to keep tidy that way, now she was afraid that she might look dumb. She anxious played with hair locks, rolling them around her finger.

"Shiena-san!"

Shiena turned back to see Otoya walking towards her, waving at her with a bright smile. She was wearing a fashionable t-shirt with regular jeans, giving her a trendy yet casual look. Shiena couldn't help but feel admirative yet envious.

"You're here quite early, I was worried I would have to wait all alone," Otoya said cheerfully.

She then looked Shiena up and down, which made her nervous, before Otoya smiled with appreciation.

"Aww, you look so cute today!" Otoya exclaimed.

Shiena blushed at the compliment while her heart started to race.

"You… you think so?" Shiena asked as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, you're adorable and pretty," Otoya replied, smiling.

It only made Shiena blushed even more as she tried to avoid Otoya's eyes, embarrassed.

"You're… you're quite beautiful yourself too," Shiena finally replied.

"Hehe, thanks~"

She had such a weakness for that woman. Whenever she showed her interest, Shiena felt so flustered and flushed. Everything about Otoya was just so alluring, Shiena felt so valorized when she complimented her. It was the first time such a beautiful girl was interested in her and wanted to be her friend, she couldn't help but be happy. And on top of, they shared similar interests. How lucky was she?

"Hey, did you have the time to check my scrapbook?" Otoya suddenly asked.

"Oh, yeah! Excellent job. You sure do know Jackie very well," Shiena complimented. "You did your research well. There are even articles I didn't know, like the first one… I would have never thought it was Jackie's work!"

Otoya chuckled as if she was amused by Shiena's enthusiasm.

"Was it useful to your 'investigation'?" she asked with a smirk.

"Hm, not really, but it did help me understand Jackie a little better."

"Oh? How so? Otoya asked, intrigued.

"Well, I always thought she killed for sexual gratification, but what if… it wasn't always the case? What if her killing started as a simple curiosity? Like, she wondered how it would feel to kill, maybe for a long time, and she finally had an occasion to try? Without the ability to feel empathy or remorse, nothing would have stopped her," Shiena explained.

"That could be true, but wouldn't the fear of getting caught stopped her? Or the possible consequences?"

"She's probably incapable of fear, and she's arrogant. She probably thought she could get away with it, she's so sure of herself, full of confidence. That bastard."

Despite those harsh words, Shiena was smiling. She genuinely liked to talk about Jack. Otoya giggled when she said that, she probably thought it was funny.

"You sure do like Jackie huh," Otoya said.

"Huh? No, I hate her."

"You know what they said. There is a very thin line between love and hate."

Shiena wondered if it was true. She despised everything about Jack yet couldn't help but be allured by her. What is hatred or love? More like fascination and obsession, but didn't this prove it was closer to love? Why would she be so into someone she loathed? Shiena didn't want to think too much about it. Serial killers were merely her passion and nothing more.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you. My friend Banba is really shy and nervous, so please be kind to her. She might feel uneased with you, so you have to respect her boundary," Shiena said.

"Since when do I not respect boundary?"

Shiena remained silent, feeling like it was useless to remind her that she invited herself in her apartment.

"Don't worry, I will be nice to your friends. I can't wait to meet them!" Otoya exclaimed. "I hope they are cute~"

Shiena somehow felt annoyed by this last sentence but didn't think too much about it. She was just happy that she could do something with both Otoya and Mahiru and call them her friends.

"Shiena-san!"

Haru was heading towards them, waving frantically and smiling brightly, while Mahiru was walking behind her, looking down.

"Ah, Ichinose, Banba, you're finally here," Shiena said.

"Sorry for the wait! Are we late?" Haru asked. "Me and Mahiru-san were on the same bus."

"No, you're not. It's us who were too early," Shiena reassured.

As she looked at Haru, Otoya's eyes were full of sparkles.

"Aww, aren't you a cutie. My name is Takechi Otoya, nice to meet you~"

"Thanks! You're quite pretty too! I'm Ichinose Haru, the pleasure is mine."

Otoya and Haru both smiled at each other. It felt like there was a vibe going on between them, and Shiena wasn't sure if she liked that. Mahiru finally arrived, looking nervous as she avoided everyone's eyes.

"H-Hi… I'm… Banba Mahiru…"

"Hi! Nice to meet you too!" Otoya said happily.

"Now that we're all here, let's not lose any more time and go to the karaoke!" Haru said with excitement.

They all headed for the karaoke, Otoya mainly chatting with Haru, much to Shiena's bother.

* * *

Much to Shiena's delight, Otoya was sitting next to her, while Haru and Mahiru were sitting next to each other in the room. There were a couple of snacks on the table as well as drinks.

"Who wants to start?" Haru said.

"I do!" Otoya exclaimed with enthusiasm as she grabbed the mike.

She went in front and the music started, while the lyrics were displayed on the screen as Otoya started to sing. She didn't lie, she did sing like an idol. She was singing some J-Pop songs, with a lot of energy. Even when she was singing, Otoya was so pretty. She looked just like a real singer.

The song stopped and Otoya took a deep breath, probably exhausted as she went back to see next to Shiena, grabbing her drink to take a sip of it.

"Wow, Takechi-san, that was amazing!" Haru exclaimed.

"Hehe, thanks Haru-chi~"

Shiena began tensed. What's up with the sudden nickname? But before she could think about it too much, Haru rose up and took the mike.

"I guess it's my turn now!" she said cheerfully.

And the music started. It was a soft and lovely melody, and so was Haru's voice. A voice full of kindness and happiness, singing a cute love song. She was slightly blushing when she sang the most romantic part, Shiena wondered if she was thinking about Tokaku. The music eventually stopped and Haru sighed.

"That was great!" Otoya complimented.

"Thanks! I was really nervous," Haru replied as she sat back. "Who's going next? Mahiru-san maybe?"

Mahiru jolted and looked at them. She stared at the mike anxiously before she took it with hesitation, and stood up.

Soft music started. Despite her nervosity, Mahiru sang pretty well. Her voice sounded like a melodic whisper, yet they could hear very well the lyrics. Mahiru was looking down all the time and stuttered a couple of times, but it didn't ruin the song in any way. It was still quite beautiful. The music stopped and she sighed with relief as she sat back.

"Wow, Mahiru-san that was amazing!" Haru exclaimed.

"Yeah, you have such a pretty voice," Shiena added.

"T-Thanks," Mahiru replied, blushing with embarrassment.

"Well, it's Shiena-san's turn now~" Otoya said with some excitement in her voice.

"I can't wait to hear you!" Haru added with enthusiasm.

Shiena felt a certain amount of pressure. The three others were decently good singers, she felt like she was no match to them. Feeling her heart beating hard she grabbed the mike after selecting a song and rose up.

Rather energetic music started as Shiena started to sing with power in her voice. Her body instinctively followed the music as she sang, almost forgetting that she wasn't alone, singing with all her might. When the music finally stopped, she was left panting. She remembered that she was with people and felt embarrassed, freezing.

"Oh, Shiena-san is such a good singer!" Otoya complimented.

"We can see that you're used to singing," Haru added.

Shiena blushed at the praise.

"You even danced a little, that was cute," Otoya said.

Shiena's face was now completely red. Otoya had such an effect on her… As she was about to sit back, she suddenly felt a discomfort.

"Ah… I need to go to the bathroom," Shiena suddenly said.

"I'm coming with you!" Haru exclaimed happily as she rose up.

Ah, so that was true. Girls do go to the bathroom together. Shiena always wondered why.

She didn't overthink it and simply left the room, followed by a cheery Haru, leaving Otoya and Mahiru alone.

* * *

Otoya ate a couple of takoyaki, followed with some potato chips and then drank a good sip of her soda. The food here was really good, she was glad she came. She was having a good time right now, she was surrounded by cute girls who sang well and good food, what to ask more?

Mahiru was barely touching the food, sitting the farthest from her, looking down. She looked so shy and afraid, like a vulnerable and scared animal.

It just made Otoya want to play with her a little.

Taking one last sip of her drink, Otoya rose up and went to sit right next to Mahiru, who started to shiver a little.

"Hey there, Mahiru-chan~"

Mahiru tried to move, but she was stuck between the wall and Otoya with the table blocking her way, trapped like a fly in a spider web.

"So, what's bring you here? No offence, but you don't look like the type of girl who goes to karaoke," Otoya said.

"I… uh… Kenmochi-san… was going… so I thought maybe… she would want me with her."

"Oh, so you are here for Shiena-san! How nice of you, what a good friend you are."

As she said that, Otoya put a hand on Mahiru's shoulder, which made her winced with fright, much to Otoya's pleasure.

"But we both know it's just an act, right?"

Mahiru froze for a moment.

"What… what do you mean?" Mahiru asked nervously, avoiding her gaze.

"This act of the shy and innocent girl. I can feel it, you know. I can smell my fellows. You may look like a small animal, you're actually a beast. You're not the person you pretend to be."

Mahiru seemed particularly hurt by that statement, which amused Otoya.

"Don't worry, I'm just the same as you. A wolf in sheep clothing," Otoya said with a sinister smile.

Mahiru looked both confused and scared, shivering. How cute. Otoya got even closer, gently stroking Mahiru's face.

"I wish you would show your true self, it would be easier to talk. You know, from a monster to another monster."

Mahiru's eyes were starting to tear up as if she was about to cry. She genuinely looked harmless and innocent, but Otoya's guts were telling her that there was something dark with that girl. But she might have gone too far, it would be bad if she started to cry. The others wouldn't be happy about that.

"Just kidding~" Otoya said cheerfully.

Otoya gently wiped away her tears and rose up, before sitting back at her original seat. Otoya wasn't afraid that Mahiru might tell the other two about that, in the worst-case scenario she could just pretend it was a bad joke. They both remained quiet until Shiena and Haru came back.

"Finally! We were about to eat all the food when you were gone," Otoya joked.

"Even if it was true, we could have simply ordered again," Haru replied with a smile.

Haru and Shiena sat back. Haru was so pretty and cute, exactly the type of girl she would enjoy slicing up. Maybe she could ask Nio if she can kill her, last time she killed without permission she got threatened. She wasn't afraid, but she would prefer to avoid getting kicked in the face again. Or worse, killed.

Shiena was bland compared to Haru, or even to Mahiru. But she was cute regardless, especially today. Her outfit was adorable and her hair loose hair was pretty. It only made her want to run a hand through it and pet Shiena. She was just like a small and fluffy animal.

"I'll go!" Otoya said as she rose up, grabbing the mike, enjoying the attention and praise she was getting as she started to sing.

* * *

"Bye, let's do that again!" Haru said as she walked away, followed by Mahiru.

Shiena had a good time. It was more fun than she expected it to be. Everyone was such a good singer and she enjoyed singing herself, even if she didn't think she was as good as the others.

Then why did she have this twinge in her heart?

"I… I'll go now, thanks… for coming with me," Shiena said as she started to walk away.

Otoya suddenly grabbed her arm, making her stop.

"Let me accompany you," she said.

"Huh? But we're not even going in the same direction," Shiena replied.

"It's starting to get late, I don't want you to walk alone," Otoya insisted.

Shiena didn't protest. She didn't see any reason to refuse to spend more time with Otoya. They started to walk, heading for Shiena's house.

"Thanks for inviting me, I had a great time!" Otoya said happily.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Your friends are nice, especially Haru-chi. I hope I can meet her again."

Again, Shiena felt that twinge in her heart. She didn't like how well and quickly she got along with Haru, and quite frankly, she was no match against her. Obviously, Otoya would prefer Haru over her…

"Ichinose is pretty, isn't she? You sure do seem to like her…" Shiena said with some bitterness in her voice.

Otoya remained quiet. Instead, she gently took Shiena's hand in hers, holding it.

"T-Takechi!?"

"Hehe, but I think Shiena-san is the cutest~"

Shiena couldn't help but blush heavily, her heart racing like crazy. She didn't think Otoya was being honest, but she was still happy to hear those words. Otoya's hand felt so warm and soft, she wished she could feel it all over her body…

She pulled herself together. What was she thinking? It wasn't the time nor appropriate to have that kind of thought towards a friend. She tried to clear her mind for any impure thought, but one remained.

She was glad that she met Otoya.

* * *

**Well, that ain't gonna end well.**

**Thanks for reading, seeya next week!**


	11. Conflicted Feelings

Shiena wished she would never see the day where she had to go back to a crime scene again. But given the fact she was working for an agency tracking down killers, it was bound to happen. All Shiena could do was brace herself and hope the sight wouldn't be too horrifying.

The car stopped in the middle of the street. Chitaru and Tokaku got out, followed by Shiena, whose heart was racing in anticipation. Multiple police cars were there, as well as the coroner's truck. Cops and analysts were all over the place as they walked in the backstreet. Shiena froze when she arrived at the crime scene.

It was truly a horrifying sight.

A man, or what was left of him, was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, half of his head destroyed. There were blood and brain bits scattered everywhere, the rest of his brain fully exposed inside his broken skull. Part of his face had also been ripped off, he only had one eye left, wide open in an expression of surprise. Poor guy…

Both Chitaru and Tokaku remained stoic and professional, but Shiena could see that they looked tensed. Just like her, they were horrified by this gruesome murder.

Shiena started to feel nauseous. Good thing that they were called before lunch and that she had skipped breakfast today. It would be bad if she threw up again.

"So, what do you think?" Chitaru asked.

"I think it's pretty damn terrible and gruesome," Shiena replied.

"I mean, what kind of killer you think did that?"

"Oh. Huh, well it's definitely not Jackie, that's for sure. Let me check closer."

Despite her horror, Shiena walked closer to the corpse, seeing more clearly all the details of his broken skull, the blood splattered and the squished brains. This gory sight was starting to make Shiena feel dizzy, but she managed to stay conscious and look.

"Well whoever did that have a lot of physical strength," Shiena said. "Someone brutal, yet not necessarily sadistic. This murder seems really… psychotic."

"Would you say it's a man or a woman?"

"I'm not sure… this type of brutality is more common for men, but there's something… merciful, that is more common for women."

"Merciful!?" Tokaku exclaimed. "You call that merciful?"

"Huh… in a way. Wait," Shiena said as she got closer to the medical examiner. "Excuse me, was this death… instant?"

"The man was killed in one blow that most likely killed him instantly, yes," the medical examiner replied.

Shiena turned back to Tokaku and Chitaru.

"See? The killer killed him in one blow, instead of killing him slowly and painfully. That's what I meant by merciful."

Tokaku ground her teeth while Chitaru remained thoughtful.

"This murder… seems familiar," Chitaru said.

"Huh? How so?" Shiena asked.

"I need to check back some old reports first, then I'll do a briefing. Now let's go back to the office."

Shiena nodded as she walked away, looking one last time at the corpse with a chill down her spine, wondering what pushed the killer to murdered that man.

* * *

"The victim was a 26 years old man, he worked in a convenience store, still in contact with his parents and no lover. His friends described him as a generous and kind-hearted man, with no known enemy. He was killed in one blow by a heavy blunt object that broke his skull and he died instantly of shock. His family and friends are currently being investigated."

Listening carefully to Chitaru's words, Shiena was taking notes, just like the other agents gathered in the briefing room.

"After studying a case that happened a couple of years ago, we come to the conclusion that it was probably the same killer, the serial killer known as the Demolisher. This killer has a dozen of victims, all killed with their skull crushed by a heavy blunt object a couple of years ago before mysteriously stopping. Kenmochi, could you tell me what you think about this killer?"

Shiena rose up nervously while clearing her throat, holding a couple of notes she wrote earlier.

"Even if the killer was using a weapon, judging by the intensity of the wounds and that it only took one blow to kill them, we know they possess incredible physical strength. They are a brute, impulsive, unstable, but they aren't sadistic. They kill in one blow, they don't needlessly make their victims suffer. But they most likely find some kind of satisfaction in taking lives, but it's probably not sexual. What they want is killing, not making suffer."

"But why are they doing that? What kind of psycho they are?" an agent asked. "A sociopath maybe?"

"They are taking something away from their victims, their lives, and it fills them with some kind of satisfaction, maybe filling a void in their heart. Those killing are almost… sacred to them. Something probably traumatized them as a child, something that breaks them mentality, so… they break others' heads. They are definitely not a psychopath, those murders seem too impulsive. A sociopath? Maybe. But I don't feel like the killer is totally devoided of empathy, after all, they kill in one blow. Despite their brutality, I feel like maybe deep down, they have a soft side. They may have some antisocial traits, but I think a better diagnosis would be psychotic. They are living in their own world, there is a meaning behind their murders that only make sense to them, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even realize that what they are doing is wrong."

"Is the killer a man or a woman? Judging by their great physical strength, would it make more sense for them to be a man?" another agent said.

"Statistically speaking yes, but let's not exclude the possibility that the killer is a strong woman. I don't know for sure if the killer is a man or a woman, brutal murders are most often caused by men while women tend to kill quickly. But this murder was sure brutal but also quick, there's the typical masculine violence yet the mercilessness more typical to women. It almost feels like the killer is androgynous or something."

Shiena took a break for a moment, pondering. This killer seemed to be more complex than expected, it always been harder for her to understand the mind of a psychotic than a psychopath, but she was up to take that challenge. Her priority was Jack, but she didn't mind adding the Demolisher to her list, after all, both needed to be stopped, for the sake of innocent people.

"So in conclusion, we're looking for a strong person, with a personality that doesn't match the traditional binary genders, a history of instability and violence, a traumatic past, probably really asocial and recluse. Probably not someone who blends well in society."

Shiena then took a deep breath and sighed. Nobody said anything else, busy taking notes.

"That will be all, thanks Kenmochi. You may return to your work, we'll keep you informed about the rest of the investigation," Chitaru said.

They all finished taking notes and rose up, returning to their desks. When Shiena was about to leave, Chitaru suddenly stopped her.

"Kenmochi, thanks again for your profiling. I know you must be really busy with the ripper, so I hope asking you to take care of the Demolisher isn't too much."

"Oh no, it's fine. I can work on both cases just fine, don't worry."

Chitaru smiled softly as she put a hand on Shiena's shoulder, who felt her heart racing.

"I'm glad you joined the team, Kenmochi. You're a great help for us."

Shiena couldn't help but smiled too, moved by the trust Chitaru had in her and how she viewed her as valuable.

"T-Thanks," Shiena replied, blushing slightly. "I… I should go back to work."

"Oh, right. I won't keep you any longer."

Chitaru removed her hand and Shiena walked away, but she couldn't calm her heart who was beating with passion.

Why did she have to have a crush on a married woman?

* * *

Heading for the abandoned building, Otoya was reading some article on her phone. A man was murdered, his skull broken. Le police were attributing this murder to the infamous serial killer the Demolisher, known to crush their victims' skull. Otoya remembered when they were still active, it was around her first murders. She smiled to herself, remembering how people online were debating which one of them was the worst. Otoya had been determined to prove she was, but then the Demolisher suddenly disappeared. A win by abandon was still good enough for Otoya, at least she could monopolize the media.

Still, she was curious about them. Why are they suddenly back? And why did they stop in the first place? Otoya wished she could meet them, to see what kind of person they are. She smirked at that thought.

"_I'm sure that would be an interesting talk with Shiena._"

Otoya reached the building and opened the door, heading for the basement. She went down the stairs and arrived to a door, which she knocked at. After few seconds of waiting, someone came to open it.

"Oh hey Jackie!" Pocky exclaimed with a friendly smile.

Otoya smiled back.

"Hey there, Pocky-san. Am I late?"

"Nah, Kuzunoha isn't even there yet, but you're the last one to arrive. Come on in!"

Otoya nodded as she stepped inside, noticing Suzu and Kouko together, the latter glaring at her with mistrust. Otoya winked at her, which seemed to annoy her more than anything. Isuke was there too, liming her nails a little far away from the rest of the group.

"Hello, _Sister_-san, _obaa-chan_," Otoya said with a cheerful smile.

"Hi, Jackie-san," Suzu replied politely.

Kouko remained silent, looking away. Otoya chuckled, staying near Pocky as she showed the group the article on her phone.

"Pretty awful huh," Otoya said, trying to look shaken.

Suzu walked closer to her to take a look at her phone before she smirked slyly.

"Oh, the Demolisher. They were pretty active a couple of years ago, I wonder why they are back," Suzu commented.

"Huh, that psycho serial killer? How gross, he must be some kind of virgin loser~" Isuke replied.

"Oh, so you think the killer is a virgin man?" Otoya asked with an intrigued look.

"Well obviously, isn't it how all those damn psychopaths are? A bunch of sexual maniac weirdos who are sexually frustrated against women?"

Otoya replied nothing to that, simply smiling.

"He ain't the only fuckers in town, there's also that other freak, what's his name again? Oh yeah, Jack something," Isuke started to say.

"Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century," Suzu added with an amused smile.

Otoya remained quiet, curious about how the conversation would go.

"Yeah, that creep! Eww, I can imagine how he looks like, some kind of gross greasy otaku who jerk off to snuff porn or something. A fucking degenerate," Isuke continued.

Otoya's smile never left her face. She wasn't offended in any way, she actually found it funny how people could be so wrong about her. It just proved to her how smarter she was then them, how easy it was to deceive and fool them, giving her the feeling she was untouchable. She noticed that Suzu was looking at her with curiosity in her eyes, as if she was wondering how Otoya would react to be insulted like that. Simply to answer her questioning, Otoya chuckled.

"Are we really better than those serial killers? Just like them, we kill," Otoya replied.

"Don't you dare compare me to those psychos! Killing is a job for me, I don't enjoy it, I'm doing it simply for the money. Those creeps are killing for pleasure, they are just plain disgusting. Who would enjoy the sight of blood anyway? Just so gross."

"I suppose you're right. Let's just hope you don't end up in the same room as a serial killer one day," Otoya replied, still smiling.

Suzu chuckled at that comment while Kouko looked like she was fighting against the urge to say the truth. At this point Otoya didn't really care if she did, it wouldn't change much if they knew. The look on Isuke's face when she learned that the gross greasy otaku is actually an attractive woman would be fun to see. When the right occasion comes, maybe she'll tell her herself.

The door then opened and Nio entered the room, with her usual fake cheery expression on her face as she walked towards them.

"Good evening Black Guild! Sorry for the wait! I'm here with your new targets for this week."

Holding a bunch of envelopes, she handed one to each assassin.

"As usual, you have one week to carry the duty, please don't disappoint me," Nio said, still smiling but with something cold in her voice.

Otoya quickly glanced at the content of her envelop. Another beautiful woman, she licked her lip in anticipation, thinking about her expression when she'll gently slice her up and take a look at her insides. It was a shame that she wouldn't have the time to really get to know her prey, one week is very few, but maybe she can do something out of this short amount of time. She had to try, just to spice up this work a little.

"You can dismiss now," Nio added as she walked away.

Otoya put back the picture in the envelope, impatient to kill her next prey.

* * *

Shiena was making her bed, being careful that everything in her room was perfect. When she was done with her bed she took what was scattered on the floor, a couple of mangas, and but them back in her bookshelf, straightening them, before getting rid of a couple of trash on her desk, then wiping some dust spots all over the place.

She let out a sigh of exhaustion before looking at her room. It seemed all cleaned, a totally normal room. Now that she cleaned the physical aspect of her bedroom, it was time to take care of the virtual aspect. Shiena sat down at her desk and turned on her computer, making sure no suspicious files were easy to find, erasing her internet history, hiding anything that might be seen as weird. When her computer was now clean, Shiena took a deep breath and sighed, satisfied of herself.

Otoya was coming over soon and Shiena wanted to be sure that everything would be perfect. Last time she came she only saw the living room and kitchen, she never went to her bedroom. Shiena was nervous to show her her bedroom, she never invited a girl there before, it felt so… intimate somehow, like showing a private part of her life to someone else. She wanted to do a good impression on Otoya, she didn't want to look like someone inelegant and lacking class.

Although Otoya did show her her messy room, so she would probably not really mind if Shiena's bedroom wasn't perfect, but she preferred to not take any risk. Anyway, she wanted to give a good image of herself to Otoya, and she would feel pretty embarrassed to show her a mess.

Shiena then looked at herself. She was still in pyjama, Otoya was supposed to arrive soon. Shiena quickly undressed before looking in her drawer. She was tempted to wear her usual hoodies but she felt like she needed to be more presentable, so instead, she picked one of those trendy t-shirts she bought with Haru and Hitsugi, with regular jeans. She then went to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror. As usual, she looked quite bland. Shiena brushed her hair and then tied them up with a scrunchie, letting her ponytail fell above one of her shoulders. She looked at herself a little more in the mirror, uncertain about this look, before rolling with it.

She heard the doorbell rang and immediately felt her heart racing. She went to the door and took a deep breath, before opening it.

"Hey there, Shiena-san~"

Shiena was simply dazed by how beautiful Otoya was. She was wearing a short-sleeves flannel shirt with under it a tank top that showed a little bit of cleavage. Shiena started a little bit too long at her breasts and then looked away and blushed with embarrassment, which made Otoya chuckled.

"You look cute today," Otoya complimented her.

"T-Thanks… you look good too," Shiena said, still blushing as she got out of the way. "You may come in."

Otoya stepped inside after removing her shoes, taking a few more steps in the apartment. Shiena closed the door behind her, feeling unusually warm.

"Would you… like something to drink?" Shiena proposed.

"I'm not thirsty for now, but I must admit I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh right, it's close to dinner time. Then, wanna eat something?"

Otoya looked at Shiena up and down with a smirk on her lips. Shiena's cheeks were burning, her thoughts wandering in dangerous territory.

"What do you got?" Otoya finally asked.

Shiena sighed with relief and headed for the kitchen, followed closely by Otoya. She then looked around what she got to eat.

"I have pizza, corn dogs, microwave dishes, mac and cheese, hot dogs and uh… oh, and instant noodles!"

Otoya winced slightly when she heard the last one, which worried Shiena, afraid that she might have somehow offended her. Much to her relief, Otoya then smiled softly.

"You're not really good at cooking aren't you?" Otoya teased.

Shiena blushed in shame, looking away.

"Yeah…" Shiena admitted.

Otoya chuckled as she pulled out her phone.

"I like to cook, but I probably won't have the right ingredient to make something decent. I'll order, my treat."

"Wait, you don't have to-" Shiena tried to protest.

"I insist. What would you like to eat?"

"I… maybe ramen?"

Otoya's smile grew wider.

"My favourite meal! Sure!" Otoya said happily. "I know a great place."

She dialled a number on her phone, ordered two ramens, before she turned back to Shiena, with a bright smile on her face.

"Done. It may take a while though, so… maybe you could show me your bedroom?" Otoya proposed.

Shiena felt her heart pound like crazy.

"It's… it's this way," Shiena stuttered as she led Otoya to her room.

Shiena nervously opened the door and got out of the way to let her guest came inside. Otoya stepped in, looking around, still smiling. Shiena could almost feel cold sweat running down her spine.

"Your room looks nice, it's all clean and well organized. Totally unlike mine~" Otoya said cheerfully.

Shiena's heart was filled with happiness by this comment. She was glad that Otoya liked her room, she wanted her to view her in a positive light. Shiena sighed discreetly with reassurance before grabbing something she left on her desk and handed it to Otoya.

"Here's your binder, I don't need it anymore. Thanks for letting me borrow it," Shiena said.

"Oh no problem, I'm glad it helped. Any comment?" Otoya said as she took back the binder before putting it away.

"Huh… Well, I have no complaints per se, your collection is perfect… but I think you forgot one murder."

"Ah? And who might it be?" Otoya asked with interest in her beautiful turquoise eyes.

"That woman… Yamada Yuu."

Otoya looked pondering for a moment before her eyes widened.

"You mean… Yeah, I read about it in the news. She was drugged then strangled in her sleep, right? Why do you think it's Jackie? The woman didn't even fit her type at all and neither do the methods."

Shiena suddenly hesitated to tell her. She felt like it was something confidential, private between her and Jack. But at the same time, she wanted to share everything about their common passion to her friend, especially after what she did for her. And if someone could believe and trust her, it must be Otoya.

"I think Jackie… knows about me. I know it may sound crazy, but I feel like she knows I'm tracking her. And this woman… she killed her to send me a message. I profiled that woman and she's just like me. She even looks like me!"

Shiena took a break and froze for a moment when she saw Otoya's stoic expression, fearing that she might be freaked out by what she said.

"I… it's probably insane, you must think I'm paranoid or something-"

Much to her surprise, Otoya gently took her hands and smiled softly.

"I believe you, Shiena-san. I don't think you're crazy at all, I'll trust your feelings."

Shiena almost felt like crying. Otoya was just so nice to her, she never had anyone be so kind to her before. She felt like she could trust her with anything, confide her anything, and Otoya would be supportive. She was so glad she met such a sweet, friendly and beautiful woman such as Otoya.

"Thank you, Takechi," Shiena said, moved.

"No need to thank me, I'm just being a decent human being," Otoya replied humbly. "But still, what kind of message would Jackie send you?"

"I'm not quite sure myself to be honest… This murder felt like… love and respect."

"So you think Jackie loves and respect you?"

"Respect, maybe, but love… I don't think she's capable of love, not like normal people do. She didn't kill that woman to frighten me, she wanted to show me that she appreciated me in a way, I think. This is why she made it painless for her and let her clothed, so she could die with… dignity. With respect. Probably what she would consider an act of love in her own twisted logic."

An old doubt she had tried to bury deep inside of her mind resurfaced, her hands shaking a little.

"That woman… got killed because of me. If I wasn't so obsessed with Jackie, she wouldn't have died. Her only crime… was that she looked like me. It's my fault…"

Shiena's voice was cracking a little, her eyes starting to be teary again. Otoya softly stroke her cheek in a comforting gesture but for a split-second, it looked like she was smiling and her eyes were gleaming with curiosity, before it was quickly replaced with concern.

"None of this is your fault, Shiena-san. You never wished for that woman's death, you didn't even know her. It's all Jackie's fault, you did nothing wrong."

Shiena felt a warm feeling in her chest, overwhelmed by this sweet sensation Otoya was giving her. She couldn't help but smiled weakly, wiping her teary eyes.

"I'm glad I met you, Takechi."

"Aww, you're flattering me too much. I'm glad I met you too~"

Shiena was left blushing madly, nervously playing with her fingers. Her heart was going crazy and her mind started to feel dizzy.

"I wonder… how Jackie deceived that girl. She's not her usual target, she must have changed her tactic," Shiena mused.

"How do you think she usually deceives her preys?" Otoya asked.

"With her charms. She's a really charismatic and beautiful woman, probably, she probably seduces her victims, probably and bars and places like that. But that woman she was… a nerd. Asocial and recluse, her only passion were books. I doubt she would be the type to be easily seduce, not like all those women… unless…"

Shiena thought about that case. Unlike other Jack's murders, there was no fingerprint found on the crime scene, which helped her case to pretend it wasn't Jack's work. They analyzed the fingerprints found on the previous crime scene and saw that it was the same fingerprints as the other victims, confirming that it wasn't a copycat. But she had something else on her mind regarding the Yamada case.

"Let's reconstituted the scene. We'll act like Jackie and her last victim," Shiena suddenly proposed.

"Oh? Roleplay?" Otoya said with a teasing smile.

"... we could call it that. I'll be Jackie!"

"Aww, I wanted to be Jackie," Otoya said with a smiling pout.

"Maybe next time."

"Hehe, next time, yeah."

"So where would they have met… the library, maybe?"

"That seems like a possibility."

"Okay then. Let me start."

Shiena took a deep breath, trying to channel her inner darkness, to put herself in the shoes of a manipulative, sadistic and charming psychopath, before she sighed, smiling in a way she hoped look seductive.

"What's that book you're holding? Is that from Minato Kanae?" Shiena asked, faking interest.

"Oh, you know her? She's my favourite author, I love all her books!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully.

"Same, I'm a big fan of her."

"Oh really? Which one of her books is your favourite? Please tell me in detail what you thought of the plot."

Shiena took a break, pondering for a moment, rubbing her chin with her finger and thumb.

"You're right, that's probably not how she fooled her," Shiena said, out of character.

"Then, how did Jackie trick her?" Otoya asked playfully.

Shiena remained thoughtful for a while before she suddenly got an idea. She clear her thought, getting back in character. She always been into theater, so it was fun for her. It had been a while since she had acted.

"Hey, is that a Minato Kanae book? I heard it was good, I really like thriller books so I was wondering if I should give it a try," Shiena said.

"Oh, you're into thriller books too? Who's your favourite author?" Otoya asked.

"I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie."

"Oh, a foreign author! A see you're a woman of culture. I totally recommend you Minato Kanae, she's the best at writing complex characters."

"Okay then. Which one would you suggest to me?"

"Hm… Penance has a pretty good plot. It should be there."

Shiena took a break to think. She had gained her trust, now she needed a way to get invited to her house. How could she use her passion for Minato Kanae for that? She felt like the answer was that book… that's it, she got it!

"I don't see it, it must have been borrowed," Shiena said, trying to look disappointed. "I really wanted to read it."

"Oh… I have a copy at my house, perhaps you could come over so you can borrow it from me?"

"Ah, that would be so nice of you, thanks!"

Shiena gave off a victorious smile.

"I got it! This must be how she deceived Yamada into inviting her to her house so she could kill her," Shiena declared.

Otoya softly clapped her hands.

"Congratulations!" she exclaimed. "I could totally see that happen that way."

Shiena blushed at the compliment while Otoya chuckled. She then got closer to her, putting her hands on Shiena's waists, which made her blush even more.

"So, is that the part where you kill me?" Otoya asked with a smirk.

"Uhhh… what?" Shiena asked, confused.

"Or will be something else also starting with 'ki' and with the same amount of letters?"

As she said that, Otoya started to lean on Shiena, whose heart was racing like crazy, her face burning. Their lips were nearly touching, Shiena felt her entire body being so warm…

Ding dong.

Otoya stopped for a moment and the sound of the doorbell let Shiena regained her composure. She instinctively recoiled, nervous, uncertain about how she felt.

"Great, the ramens are there!" Otoya exclaimed joyfully. "Let's go eat, shall we?"

"Y-Yeah," Shiena replied.

She wasn't sure what nearly happened. Were they about to…? No that couldn't be, why such a beautiful girl like Otoya would want to do that with the bland girl she was? It must be a misunderstanding. Yet Shiena couldn't get out of her mind this idea of them doing that.

They exited the room to go eat, Shiena still being conflicted about her own feelings towards Otoya.

* * *

**I swear if this fic was only the OtoShie part written from Shiena PoV people would think it's some cheesy and sappy romance story.**

**Things are getting hotter between Otoya and Shiena and we got a new serial killer! Who's the Demolisher? Please let me know your thought.**


	12. Empty Hearts

Shiena was reading the old articles about the Demolisher's murders. The victims were usually young, in their twenties, men or women, all their skull crushed. Most of them worked in customer services. All death by shock due to a major head injury. Shiena then read the reports, wincing at the pictures of the corpses. One really needed to not be right in the head to do such a thing.

"_The victims usually worked in customer services, perhaps the culprit met them on their workplace,_" Shiena thought.

The victims were too similar to be a coincidence. The killer must have chosen them based on certain criteria, or the circumstances of who they hunt them attract that kind of people. Young, student jobs, in contact with the customers…

"_Could they meet them randomly at different shops? The killer would look for a victim in those types of places and find an employee that fits their criteria._"

Then the killer must have some sort of charisma, something that gained their victims' trust. Maybe the killer themselves didn't know they were going to commit murder and that something the victim did later triggered their homicidal tendencies…

Shiena was starting to have a headache. Trying to understand the mind of a psychotic was so demanding, trying to put herself in the shoes of someone crazy was making her dizzy. Those people live in their own reality, they were there own logic that only made sense for them. Trying to understand them was really exhausting. But Shiena knew she had to persevere, to protect innocent people, and also because the killer themselves needed help.

"Hi there, Shiena-san… Woah!"

Shiena jolted and turned back to discover Haru, who was gazing with shock at her computer screen. Shiena turned back and saw she still had the corpse pictures, which she immediately closed.

"Sorry," Shiena said.

"Oh, it's fine, it's not the first time I… see something like that," Haru said, smiling weakly before she looked sad. "Those poor people… why would someone do something as awful?"

"I don't know. The mind of a psychotic is complex, it only makes sense to them…"

"Are they just… evil?"

"I don't think we can qualify them as evil. Lots of them don't even realize what they are doing is wrong. What they are doing is objectively bad and they should be stopped, but… they are mentally ill, they need help. Even people like that deserve our compassion," Shiena said.

"You're probably right… I can't believe someone who has done something so horrible while being sane. Let's do our best to catch them so they can't hurt anyone anymore and receive the help they need."

"I'm determined to find them, as well as Jackie."

"You're so hardworking. Just take it easy, don't overwork yourself," Haru said with concern.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. That's my job after all," Shiena said with a soft smile, trying to reassure Haru.

Haru looked uncertain but eventually smile too.

"Ichinose?" Tokaku called from her desk with her usual stern expression.

"Ah, I've got to go, talk to you later!" Haru as she headed back to Tokaku's desk.

Shiena turned back to her computer and read again the report about the Demolisher, determined to find any clues to put an end to their gruesome rampage.

* * *

Sitting on the couch, Shiena was nervously crossing her legs, uncertain why she had to be there. Facing her was a middle-aged woman sitting on an armchair, holding a small picture she was looking at with nostalgy, a weak smile on her lips yet sadness in her eyes. By her side was Chitaru, who was giving a sympathetic look towards the woman.

"Excuse us for this sudden visite," Chitaru said politely.

"It's okay. You said it was… about my son? Do you have new evidence regarding his murder?" the woman asked.

"Yes. The one we suspect to be your son's murderer, a serial killer known as the Demolisher, made a new victim recently. We decided to reopen the case and see if we have missed any evidence regarding your son," Chitaru said with tact.

The woman looked shocked by what she just heard.

"What… the monster… who took away my precious boy… is back?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"I'm afraid they are. But fear not, this time we are more than determined to stop that bastard," Chitaru assured.

"I'll do anything to help you catch that scum," the woman said with some bitterness in her voice.

Shiena couldn't help but feel bad for that woman, a mother who had lost her child so tragically, and almost regret feeling sympathy for the killer. She did want to catch them, but not for vengeance. She simply wanted to avoid having any more victims and that the culprit got the help they need.

"Are there any other details you may have forgotten to tell us about your son?" Chitaru asked.

"No, I don't think so… my son was a good boy, everyone liked him, he never did anything wrong… nothing to deserve such a brutal death."

"Did he mention something unusual in is life? Did he say he felt threatened by someone?" Chitaru asked.

"No, not from what I remember."

"Did he met someone new? At his job maybe?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Oh… uh… my son was working in a café, he did say he was interested in a regular customer, a young woman. He even brought her a present. He seemed so happy about her, why did he have to get murdered when he fell in love?"

The woman suddenly let out a sob. Chitaru grabbed a tissue box and offered her one, which she gladly took to wipe away her tears. Shiena remained pondering about that girl she mentioned.

"This young woman… did you met her?" Shiena asked.

"N-No… he didn't even tell me her name… Why? Don't tell me you think… she's the culprit!?"

"We can't say for sure now, but any new person in your son's life is a potential suspect," Chitaru replied.

"No, it's can be… a woman couldn't have done something so horrific, the killer has to be a man!" the woman insisted.

Chitaru and Shiena didn't insist. The woman seemed really upset and probably didn't have much to add to her story. It was probably for the best to let her grieve alone.

"That will be all," Chitaru said as she rose up. "Thanks for your time, if you have anything else you remember please give us a call."

"Oh, sure. Thanks for coming, and please, catch that monster before any other mothers lose their child."

Chitaru nodded as she walked away, Shiena doing the same. They exited the room and headed for their car.

"So, what do you think, Kenmochi?"

"I'm curious about that girl he was in love with," Shiena said.

"Same. Let's see what the other victims' relatives have to say."

Shiena nodded and entered the car, still wondering about that girl and the role she may have played in that man's death.

* * *

As she entered the bar, Otoya discreetly looked around to spot her prey. She smiled to herself when she found her, she was sitting all by herself at the bar, looking bored. Otoya chose a table and sat down, while a waitress approached her.

"May I take your order?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll take a sangria, and gave a second drink of whatever the lady over there is drinking," Otoya said, pointing the woman as she gave a few yens to the waitress. "You can keep everything."

Otoya winked at her with a charming smile, which made the waitress blushed a little. She came back with a sangria she gave to Otoya, before giving the drink to the other woman. She looked surprised before the waitress pointed her Otoya, who weakly waved at her with a polite smile. The woman looked confused for a moment before she grabbed her drink and joined Otoya at her table.

"Excuse me… do we know each other?" the woman asked.

"I'm afraid I don't have the honour to know you, but perhaps you can fix that," Otoya said seductively.

The woman looked confused by her attempt of flirting, which Otoya understood that she mustn't be familiar with lesbianism. Not that it bothered Otoya, she liked it when the hunt was a challenge. It would be boring if it was too easy.

"So, why such a beautiful woman as yourself is all by herself in a bar?" Otoya asked.

"I'm just… passing time. And I needed a drink, and drinking all by myself at home seemed… depressing."

"Oh, you live alone?"

"No… I have a husband, but… he's always busy at work, right now he's in another country for business."

"Ah, I get you. My husband works really late so I barely see him at home," Otoya said with a fake sympathetic look.

The woman's expression changed. Her look of doubt had turned into a gaze of comradeship, as she could relate to Otoya, a fellow woman who understood her struggle. Otoya grinned in her mind, it always worked. Humans were naturally drawn to people who resemble them, they foolishly believe anyone they could have sympathy for. Once you get that, it was so easy to manipulate them to do anything you wanted, people were nothing more than puppets and Otoya was the puppeteers, pulling the strings and leading them right to her web.

The woman finished her drink pretty quickly and asked the waitress for another drink. She talked about all her pet peeves about her husband, Otoya listening to her carefully while exchanging some stories about her "husband". The woman kept ordering drinks, Otoya paying for a few, until she was drunk. Her eyelids seemed heavy and she had trouble speaking coherently, while Otoya had a strong resistance to alcohol. She finished her own drink, feeling like it was time to move to the next step.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Otoya asked.

"Eh… not really… I'll probably call a taxi…"

"Oh? How about I drive you back home? I can even use your car so you don't have to go pick it up tomorrow," Otoya proposed.

"Yeah… that ain't a bad idea, thanks."

Otoya rose up and helped the woman to do the same, heading for the exit with her, trying to hide her malevolent smirk as she anticipated the fun night she was going to have.

* * *

Shiena stopped in front of the café door. Looking at herself in the glass, she made sure that her hair was okay and nearly received the door in the face. She narrowly avoided it, with a man coming out from the café, glancing at her strangely. Shiena smiled nervously and the man simply walked away, while she sighed and stepped inside. She ordered a coffee before looking around and noticed someone waving at her. Feeling her heart racing, Shiena joined her, before sitting down at her table.

"Hi, Shiena-san," Otoya said with a soft smile.

"Hey, Takechi…" Shiena said, feeling a little bit nervous.

Shiena took a sip of her coffee before adding a few more sugars and milk.

"How was your day at work?" Otoya asked.

"Rather calm for once, what about you?"

"We had a big order for flowers, for a wedding, so it was pretty busy. I'm all exhausted."

"You should have called me, we could have seen each other another day…"

"Oh no it's fine, I really wanted to see you," Otoya assured.

Shiena blushed a little bit. She was happy that Otoya wanted to meet her, even if she was exhausted after work. It just showed how much she cared about her.

"Well, I… I really wanted to see you too," Shiena said, looking away.

Otoya chuckled while Shiena took another sip of her coffee. Shiena felt a little bit shy and embarrassed after what happened last time they saw each other. She remembered when their lips almost touched, this memory making her blush even more.

"Hey, I forgot to mention it last time, but have you heard about the Demolisher?" Otoya suddenly asked.

"Oh, yeah, that serial killer who crushes their victims' skulls? I heard about them," Shiena said, a little bit evasive.

"What do you think about them? A psychopath? A man, a woman?"

"Hm, I'm not quite sure. I honestly have no idea if they are a man or a woman, but they are definitely not a psychopath, and neither a sociopath probably. I would say they are most likely psychotic."

"Oh, that's interesting. What made them that way?"

"Probably some trauma in childhood, something that broke their mind. Something with their head, so they feel the need to break others' 'mind', well their brains. My bet is that they have been abused as a kid, perhaps bullied. This trauma left a void in their heart, which they are desperately trying to fill with… those murders. They are getting something out of it, some kind of satisfaction to heal their broken heart, but I don't know yet what it is."

Otoya started to drink her coffee, listening carefully to Shiena's words with interest in her eyes.

"I have a… friend, who's working with the police. They told me a little about the investigation," Shiena continued.

"Oh? What did they say?" Otoya asked, curious.

"Well, they met with some relatives of the past victims, all of them were described as kind and generous."

"So the killer has a specific type…"

"I'm not sure it's the case. More like the killer is attracting that kind of person."

"How so?"

"Some of them… had met someone before they were killed. A girl. Unfortunately, none of the relatives have met that those girls or know their names or what they look like. What if… they were all the same girl and she was the culprit?"

"It's a possibility. So the culprit would be a woman."

"It seems so… But that girl, she keeps attracting nice and generous people, like she was… gaining their sympathy. I feel like she must be somewhat pitiful, maybe shy, someone that arise compassion and desire to protect. Yet those murders are so brutal, it has to be someone rough, aggressive, unstable. It feels like this girl and the murderer are two completely different people, yet both the culprit…"

"Maybe the personality change is because of her psychosis, maybe she has psychotic rages that change her behaviour," Otoya proposed.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I feel like she doesn't plan her murders, when she met her victims it was probably by coincidence, she attracted those types of people and something they do must have triggered something in her and sent her in a psychotic rage and murdered them."

"Or maybe they are actually two. The girl attracted the victims and an accomplice kills them."

"That's also a possibility, or the two aren't accomplices and the culprit targets people who are interested in that girl, maybe to protect her? What is sure is that whoever the culprit is, they are psychotic, dangerous and need help."

"Oh? You're having sympathy for the killer?"

"Well, yeah, kinda. I mean, sure what they do is horrible, but… Something really awful must have happened to them to make them that way, so I can't help… but feel bad for them."

Otoya finished up her coffee and looked at Shiena with curiosity in her eyes before she smirked.

"What about Jackie? Do you feel sympathy for her?" Otoya suddenly asked.

Shiena was taken by surprise by this question. She wasn't even sure herself what she felt towards Jack, but she tried to answer the most honestly possible.

"I don't feel sympathy for her. I feel pity."

"Oh? Why so?" Otoya asked, intrigued.

"Jackie was born that way. She'll never know what love and compassion are and she'll always be… empty in the inside. No matter how much she kills, she'll never fill that void. She's condemned to a miserable and hollow existence where all she can do is be a parasite and feed on the living like a pathetic leech. Someone like her who can only find joy in the suffering of others truly is pitiful and will never know what true happiness feels like."

Otoya continued to smile but Shiena could see she was surprised by her response, something looked off with her smile but Shiena couldn't put her finger on it.

"I think you're wrong," Otoya finally said. "I don't think she's miserable. You're seeing stuff from your own perspective instead of putting yourself into her shoes. She never felt those things so she can't possibly suffer from the lack of them. I honestly think she's quite enjoying herself without all those useless emotions, she's truly living for herself. I think she's really happy with her condition and what she's doing."

"Maybe she considers herself happy but… I can't help but feel like it's a sad existence. I kinda wish that… she could find love and know what it feels like… to care for someone… to have someone who loves her."

Before Otoya could reply Shiena's phone suddenly vibrated.

"Oh, sorry," Shiena said.

"No it's fine, go ahead," Otoya replied with a smile.

Shiena looked at her phone to see she had received a text message from Chitaru.

"_We found a new corpse, come back to the office immediately._"

Shiena sighed and put away her phone before raising up, quickly finishing her coffee.

"Sorry, I have to go… work stuff," Shiena apologized.

"It's okay, I understand. I had fun talking with you, let's do that another time," Otoya said happily.

"I had fun too. Seeya!"

Shiena threw in the trash her empty coffee cup and left the café, thinking about glad she was to have a friend with who talking about serial killers, but also worried about the crime scene she will once again have to visit.

* * *

Just like expected, the sight was quite horrifying.

Lying in a pool of blood in the bed was a woman, her body awfully mutilated. Her limbs were covered in cuts, her chests had been stabbed multiple time and her belly was ripped open with her guts hanging. For once, Shiena didn't get nauseous at this gory sight.

"_I must getting used to it,_" she thought.

The victim was partially naked, her clothes had been ripped off. The blood was smearing her breasts, it had dripped up to her abdomen and soaked the bed.

"That bastard," Tokaku said between her teeth.

Chitaru clenched her fist with an expression of anger as if her sense of justice had been trampled. Shiena got closer to the corpse, seeing clearly all the details of her insides. The woman's face was stuck on such an empty expression, devoid of any life. Nothing surprising, considering she was dead. Shiena felt sympathy towards this unknown woman, as well as guilt to not have caught Jack sooner.

"What do you think, Kenmochi?" Chitaru asked.

"Definitely Jackie. This murder reeks with sexual perversion," Shiena replied. "And it's her signature."

As she said that Shiena pointed to the flower in the victim's hair, the finishing touch of this gruesome flower arrangement. A piece of bloody art in the mind of the killer. Shiena noticed that the mouth was slightly opened and that there seemed to have something inside.

"Hey, check inside her mouth," Shiena told one of the analysts.

The analyst, wearing latex gloves, carefully opened the victim's mouth and used pliers to remove what was inside. It was a little bloody Ziploc bag, with inside a folded piece of paper. Shiena remained surprised by this discovery.

"Is that… some kind of message?" Tokaku asked.

"Jackie never left any type of messages before," Shiena remarked.

"Could you open it please," Chitaru requested.

The analyst opened the bad and unfolded the paper carefully, taking a look at its content.

"It looks like… a poem," he said.

"Please, read it," Shiena asked, her curiosity being stirred.

The analyst cleared his throat before he started reading.

"The most beautiful flower was standing in the garden

Pure and outstanding she radiates beauty

But she was old and starting to fade

So they got mercy on her and cut her before she could rot

This way the flower's beauty was preserved forever

/

But the world was full of beautiful flowers

Pretty flowers that will one day fade away

It's their duty to cut them all

Turn them into beautiful flower arrangements

So they may remain beautiful forever

/

Who is this bud who captivate them so much

In what kind of flower may she blooms

Will she ever grow to become on to begin with

Cut or not cut there's the point

What kind of seed did she plant in them"

As the analyst finished reading it, everyone remained quiet for a moment before Tokaku suddenly punched the wall.

"Fucking psycho! Who do they think they are? Some kind of amateur poet?" Tokaku exclaimed.

"They are making fun of us, they are taunting us," Chitaru added.

Shiena grabbed her chin with her index and thumb, softly striking it, pondering.

"No, I don't think she's mocking us," Shiena mused. "It's like a heartfelt cry. Jackie is opening her heart to us through art, she wants us to understand her. She's sending us a riddle, to test us, to see if we're worthy opponents for her. She wants to see if we can understand the clues she's leaving us and find out who she is."

"So she's toying with us," Tokaku replied, clenching her fist.

"No, she's _playing _with us," Shiena corrected. "If she's leaving clues, she's no longer seeing us as mere puppets she's controlling with strings. We are now people to her, players, opponents. She's inviting us to play a game with her, she's even offering us part of her heart as a sign of good faith."

Shiena remained thoughtful. That wasn't quite that. Most of it was true, but it wasn't about all of them. Shiena felt like this poem was dedicated to her. Jack wanted her to understand her, it was all part of the game. And Shiena was ready to take up the challenge.

"A game… They sacrificed humans' life for a game… I'll find them no matter what and throw them in jail where they belong," Chitaru declared.

Shiena only had one thought in mind. Get her hands on the poem so she can analyze it and understand what Jack was trying to show them.

* * *

**Jack the Poet, who would have thought.**

**Writing poems is fun, and it won't be the last one.**

**Was do you think the poem means? Please let me know, and seeya next week!**


	13. The Darkness Within

**Triggers warning: Mass shooting and suicide.**

* * *

They found out that the victim's husband was working for some important company. He was currently in another country for business but was on his way to take a plane to return to Japan. From what Shiena heard, he sounded devastated by the death of his wife on the phone. She always felt bad for the victims, but they weren't the only ones suffering. Those people had loved ones that cared about them, and they ended up saddened by their tragic death. Those were also victims of Jack, too many people had suffered because of her.

Shiena was determined to put an end to her sadistic hunt.

And for that, she needed to understand Jack better, and she felt like the poem she left was the key to resolve this mystery.

Sitting at her desk Shiena was rereading for the umpteenth type Jack's poem, a digital version she had saved in her computer. As she guessed, Jack's murders were related to flower, it felt like she considered herself a florist. As if killing women was comparable to the mere act of cutting a flower…

"Hey, Shiena-san."

Shiena sighed and turned back. Why Haru was always bothering her during work? Didn't she have other people to whom talk to? Shiena remembered that Haru told her there weren't many women of her age in AKA, she must simply felt lonely. And it wasn't like Tokaku was that much sociable.

"Hi, Ichinose."

"What are you doing?"

"Analyzing the poem left by Jackie on her last crime scene."

"Oh…"

Haru leaned out and took a look at Shiena's screen.

"This is… a really lovely poem. I can't believe it was written by a psychopath," Haru said.

"Well, psychopaths actually tend to be really creative."

"Ah, I didn't know that."

That seemed to fit what she believed of Jack, that she viewed herself as an artist. Her horrific murders were nothing more than a piece of art for her, flower arrangement. It wasn't too far fetched to think she would like other forms of art, like writing.

"What do you think of this poem?" Shiena asked.

"Hm… Well, I have the feeling that it represents unsatisfaction. They keep cutting more and more flowers and they are never satisfied, like they have to fill… an emptiness in them. But they found that bud and the fact they don't know what kind of flower it may be captivate them and somehow, satisfy them."

Shiena thought about that. She did feel the same way regarding this poem. Jack must have this emptiness in her heart, something that pushes her to take lives away so she can… feel alive herself.

"But still, who are those they?" Haru asked.

"I think they here is singular and simply represent Jackie. She used it to hide her true gender."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"So the first stanza is about this flower who was so beautiful she cut her so she wouldn't fade away. She used 'she' to refer to the flower, so we know it's a person, a woman. Probably Jackie's first victim, the one that started this obsession she has with beauty, more specifically preserving beauty. This woman was probably growing old or something, and Jackie… couldn't take it. It's probably more than that, maybe it caused some kind of trauma in her."

"A woman in her life that became older… her mother maybe?" Haru proposed.

"That would make sense. Lots of serial killers started with issues with their mothers."

So she had been right, something must have happened between Jack and her mother. It was related to her growing older and losing her beauty. Was her mother somehow abusive to her? Did Jack really kill her? It seemed to be the case.

"The second stanza seems to be about her life as a serial killer, comparing women to flowers, she wants to preserve their beauty so she 'cut' them. Those brutal murders are like flower arrangements to her," Shiena said.

"If what happened with her mother caused a trauma, that would explain why she feels the need to kill those women. She doesn't want what happened to her mother happening to other women. Growing old and losing their beauty, I mean."

That seemed right. Whatever happened with her mother left a trauma in Jack's mind, she couldn't bear anymore to see women losing their beauty. This need turned overtime into pleasure, and it was now like an addiction.

"What about the third stanza?" Haru asked. "Who's this bud she's talking about? She used 'she' there too so it must be a woman…"

Shiena had a doubt about the identity of this bud, but since she didn't want people to know her and Jack were linked, she had to come up with another explanation.

"It must represent her next victim," Shiena pretended. "The bud hasn't bloomed yet, which symbolizes how she'll have to wait before killing her."

"What about 'cut or not cut'?"

"She must be playfully choosing between killing her or not, like she was God and could decide who lives and who dies. Typical of narcissistic killers."

"And what is the seed she planted in Jackie?"

"Hm… probably lust. Jackie is attracted to those women, she probably feels like they are the one charming her, planting their seed of lust in her. Psychopaths tend to do that, they blame others for their actions. Lots of serial killers consider that the women they killed deserved it for being 'tease' in their mind."

"Yeah… that does make sense. So Jackie has another victim in mind, so another woman… will die horribly."

Haru seemed saddened and horrified by this prospect. Shiena felt some sympathy for her, she could understand her. She put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled softly.

"I won't rest until I catch her. I'll do everything I can to find her. Everyone here is doing their best," Shiena said.

"You're right… and there's nothing we can really do about it. All we can do is work harder to catch her!"

Shiena nodded as she removed her hand, but before she could add anything, someone interrupted them.

"Ichinose, time to get back to work," Tokaku said.

"Ah, right," Haru said. "Seeya later Shiena-san!"

Haru joined Tokaku, who glanced at Shiena with what appeared to be distrust, before they both went back to their respective. A little bit confused about that stare, Shiena remained thoughtful for a moment, before she went back at reading the poem one more time.

* * *

Shiena came out from the toilet cabin to go wash her hands. As she stepped forwards the bathroom sink, her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror. Ever since what happened to Yamada Yuu, Shiena's own reflection was haunting her, her own face was a cruel reminder that someone died because of her. She used to think her face was a blessing, a bland face that almost made her invisible, but now it was a curse. She looked down to avoid that reflection that tormented her so much, finishing to wash her hands. But no matter how much she washed them, they still felt dirty.

She closed the faucet and wiped dry her wet hands, trying to not overthink too much.

"Kenmochi."

Shiena jolted as she turned back, to discover that someone else was in the bathroom as if they were waiting for her.

"... A-Azuma… hey… uh… do you need anything?"

Tokaku was standing there, leaning again the door and gazing at Shiena. Her eyes were cold and her expression stoic, but her body language looked threatening. Shiena felt a chill down her spine, feeling uneased.

"You're weird," Tokaku suddenly tell her.

Shiena froze. Did she just… insult her? She had been called weird often, but it always came with scorn and mockery in their voices, yet Tokaku didn't sound like that. She was just cold and emotionless, and distrustful.

"... Huh?"

"The way you talk about serial killers, giving them nicknames, acting like you have sympathy for them… It's almost like you love them," Tokaku said.

Shiena felt called out. It was true that she had a certain fondness for serial killers, but she didn't want everyone to know about that. It was a dark part of herself she wouldn't share so easily, especially to someone who wasn't her friend.

"Of course I sympathize with them, it would be hard for me to understand them if I didn't understand their feelings," Shiena replied. "This is just part of my work."

Tokaku looked unconvinced as she walked towards Shiena, staring at her intensely.

"There's something going on between you and the ripper, I can feel it," Tokaku said.

Shiena gulped. Tokaku stopped right in front of her, glaring at her. That was bad. Shiena didn't want her to know about that, it was a secret between her and Jack… and Otoya too.

"Obviously there is, just like everyone else here. Should I remind you that we're all tracking Jackie?" Shiena replied back, trying to sound snarky.

"That's not what I meant. I'm sure you're hiding stuff about the ripper, there are clues you're keeping to yourself," Tokaku continued.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about-"

"What are you hiding from us, Kenmochi? Are you perhaps covering up for the ripper?" Tokaku accused.

"What? Of course not! I would never cover up for her, are you out of your mind!?"

Tokaku seemed doubtful and Shiena had enough of this. She went through too much bullying to let herself get intimidated again. Shiena simply went around her coworker, ready to leave. But before she could reach the door, Tokaku suddenly grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"I don't know what kind of _darkness_ you're dealing with, but… you better not bring down Ichinose with you when you'll fall," Tokaku warned.

Shiena didn't even deign to reply anything to that. She shook her arm to break free and simply left the bathroom. But despite her lack of reaction, those words stabbed deep in her heart.

It reminded her of the darkness within her.

* * *

_She had a hard time controlling her breath. The other students were looking at her from time to time, probably wondering what was wrong with her. Her heart was racing like crazy, she couldn't even focus on the class. Not that she was trying to to begin with. Her hand was buried under her jacket, clenching hard to a specific object, an item she believed would bring her salvation and freed her from hell._

_She was just waiting for the right moment to use it. The teacher was still talking, her classmates all taking notes. The teacher eventually left the classroom, that was the signal she was waiting for. Cold sweats were dripping in her back as she closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do._

_When she opened her eyes, everything became blurry for a moment, and then a flash. It almost felt like reality had been broken and was now distorted._

_Her vision then became clearer again, even too much clear. Immediately she rose up and pulled out what she was holding and aimed at a girl who was bullying her._

_A gunshot resounded in the class. The girl fell to the floor, an important quantity of blood escaping from her head. The students remained frozen for a moment, and she used this short time to shoot again, and again, and again…_

_She managed to kill most of her bullies while the students started to scream and ran away. She wasn't done with them, some of them still needed to die. She quickly left the classroom and ran after some of her classmates, shooting. She managed to hit two more before they all escaped from the school. She hesitated to follow them before she decided that it didn't worth it. She got to kill most of those who brought so much suffering in her life, it was already enough._

_She then looked at her gun. There was only what thing to do so she would be free of her misery. She gulped, but she knew she had to do it. After what she did, she simply couldn't do otherwise._

_She brought the gun to her head and took a deep breath._

_And then pulled the trigger._

Shiena woke up in a jolt. She was left panting and all sweaty by this horrific nightmare. She rose up and sat, slightly shivering while she ran a hand through her hair. Her heart was racing like crazy, so much that she was worried it might even stop.

She turned her head to look at her alarm clock. It was already so late in the morning, she totally overslept. Good thing that today was Saturday, so she had no work to do. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she got out of bed. She looked in her drawer and pulled out something. It was the same gun as in her dream. With a sigh, she put it back before closing the drawer.

Shiena headed for the bathroom and turned on the light. She opened the faucet and let cold water run, before she splashed it on her face to cool down. Her body was all sweaty, she felt so dirty and gross. She removed her pyjama and let the water run in the shower, waiting for it to be warm enough, before she got inside.

The warm water running on her body helped her to calm a little and relax, but she still remained highly disturbed by her dream. It had been such a long time she didn't have this specific nightmare. What Tokaku told her reopened some old wounds, old scars from her dark past. She could remember those painful days, the suffering she experienced, all the bullying she went through, it hurt so much. She never wanted to live something like that ever again.

She realized there was water on her face, and it wasn't from the shower. Shiena started to softly sob and got her head under the water to hide her tears. She waited to stop crying before washing herself, starting with shampoo, making sure her hair was all clean. She then used a bar of soap for the rest of her body, but no matter how much she washed, if felt like some kind of soot was sticking to her skin.

No, it was deeper than that. Like someone was tainting her soul itself. No soap could get rid of that.

She closed the water and got out from the shower, quickly grabbing a towel because she already started to feel cold. She dried herself and then took her bathroom robe and put it on. She was still a little bit tired so she went to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She put her laptop on the kitchen table and opened it, putting her coffee cup next to it with a plate of toasts. She sat down and went on Facebook to read news articles.

She always did that in the morning. She wanted to see if there were any murders. She was even following a whole bunch of Japanese newspapers all around the country, and even some foreign ones. She didn't want to miss any murder cases.

Taking a sip of coffee and then a bite of toast, Shiena scrolled down to read more articles. She stopped when she spotted one about a man who got strangled to death in a parking. That sounded familiar. She started to read more and discovered that the man was married to a woman who was working for the same company that Jack's latest victim's husband worked in. She opened another tab and started a research about specific types of murders that happened recently, and found what she was looking for.

A bomb incident. Someone drowned in a river after apparently drinking too much. A mysterious disappearance. Plus Jack's murder and the man strangled to death. All the people murdered had a relative working for the same company.

It couldn't be a coincidence. It was a personal attack against that company, commissioned by someone.

Shiena was convinced it was the work of this evil organization she suspected Jack to be part of. She put that investigation aside to focus on Jack and the Demolisher, but she felt she needed to work on that too. That made at least four more killers to profile. Maybe it was too much, especially if they were part of some secret group. But now that she knew about them, she felt like she simply couldn't pretend to not have noticed.

As she finished her first toast someone knocked at the door. Who could it be a Saturday? Curious but also a little bit worried, Shiena went to open the door.

"Hey, Shiena-san~"

Shiena remained speechless for a moment, not expecting such a visitor.

"Takechi!?"

In the door frame was Otoya, smiling happily as she looked at Shiena up and down.

"Nice outfit~" Otoya complimented with a chuckled. "Did I wake you up?"

Shiena blushed a little at the comment as she made sure her robe was well closed, a little bit embarrassed that Otoya saw her dressed that way.

"N-No… I've been awake for a while now," Shiena replied. "I was just having breakfast… Why are you here? I didn't know you were the type to wake up so early…"

"Nah, I'm usually a night owl. I just had to get up early because I had an appointment this morning. Since your place was on my way home, I thought I could pay you a visit. Does it bother you?"

"No, it's fine- would have preferred a phone call before- but it's fine. Come on in!"

Otoya stepped inside after removing her boots, leaving her coat on the hanger.

"Do you want anything? Drink? Maybe eat?" Shiena proposed.

"Well, I kinda had to skip breakfast this morning. I don't want to ask too much, but I wouldn't say no to some food."

"Huh, you can check around if there's anything you want."

As she said that Shiena went back to sit at the table, continuing to eat her toast. Otoya started to look around, starting by the cupboards, while Shiena continued to read the new articles. She heard her guest opened the fridge.

"Oh, you have eggs! Mind if I take two?" Otoya asked.

"... sure, go ahead."

"Thankies!"

Shiena found that Otoya was pretty bold and shameless. She didn't seem to have any problem coming here uninvited and easily make herself at home. She was so extroverted, unlike Shiena who struggled with her relationship with others. Otoya never seemed nervous or stressed, she was so confident and optimistic. Shiena was kind of envious but also admirative of her.

"Watcha doing?" Otoya asked.

"I'm just looking through news articles. I'm following a bunch of newspapers on Facebook.

"Oh, same! Gotta keep yourself posted, right?" Otoya said with a wink.

"Well, yeah. I need to stay updated about… murders stuff. You know, serial killers."

"Yeah, I get you."

Otoya looked in the cupboards and grabbed a fry pan and put it on the stove. While she was cooking the eggs, Shiena continued to scroll down on her dashboard, reading a few more articles. She could hear the eggs grilled, the smell made her regret to simply have made toasts for breakfast. But she was lazy and not in the mood to cook so in the end, it was worth it.

"Do you want some?" Otoya asked.

"Hm… Well, I'm not that hungry, but maybe one wouldn't be so bad, thanks."

Otoya cracked another egg in the pan. Shiena finished to eat her toast and rose up.

"Do you want some coffee?" Shiena asked.

"Yeah, sure. Sugar and cream- wait, you have no cream right?"

"Well actually, I bought some because… in case you came back."

"Aww, that's so sweet for you!"

Shiena felt her heart racing a little bit. She put some water in the kettle, waiting for the water to boil.

"It's starting to get real cold outside," Otoya said.

"Well yeah, winter is coming."

"I won't complain, it's good for my business. Now that people can't grow flowers themselves, they are buying more. And that's without talking about the holiday season coming soon."

"Oh yeah, men are all going to rush in your store to buy flowers for their girlfriends. Mostly because they forgot to buy them a present."

"No only men. I would personally buy flowers for my girlfriend- if I had one."

And once again she winked at Shiena, which made her blushed. This comment just reminded her of those conflicted feelings she had for Otoya, this desire she had for her, this wish to be more than friends.

But she knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking. A woman was beautiful as Otoya would certainly not be interested in the bland girl she was.

Shiena poured some warm water in a cup and added instant coffee, before putting some sugar and cream. She then let the cup on the table while Otoya brought two plates with eggs.

"I hope you like eggs sunny-side up," Otoya said.

"Yeah, I love those! Thanks!"

They both sat down and started eating, will sipping some of their respective coffee.

"So, did your friend tell you more about the Jackie case?" Otoya suddenly asked.

It took a moment for Shiena to understand what Otoya meant before she suddenly remembered the lie she told her.

"Oh right, my friend… who works with the police," Shiena replied, trying to hide how nervous she was. "Well, from what they told me, they found a poem written by Jackie on the last crime scene."

Otoya took another sip of her coffee and put the cup down, looking interested.

"Oh, really? What was it about?"

"Well, I don't remember it all, but I do remember the overall content," Shiena began. "There were three stanzas. The first one was about a specific flower that she considered as the prettiest, and talked about how she had to cut it to preserve its beauty."

"Oh, I see. What do you think it means?"

"Well, obviously this flower is a person, a woman. Probably Jackie's first victim, the one that started her whole obsession with preserving beauty. That woman was probably middle-aged, she wasn't old per se but she was getting older, thus losing her 'beauty'. Jackie loved her for her beauty and couldn't accept she was losing it, so… she killed her."

"Hm, that seems to make sense. But who was that to her?"

"Probably an older relative… her mother perhaps."

Otoya stopped drinking for a moment before a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"Her mother you said… I could see that."

"I mean, I don't want to get into stereotypes, but most of the time, serial killers start killing because of unresolved issues with their mothers."

"Jackie simply loved her mother and wanted her to stay pretty."

"Yeah, but… for her to even think of killing… was her mother abusive to her somehow? What kind of _trauma_ made her seek murder-"

Otoya put down her cup a little bit too hard, the sound making Shiena jolted slightly. Otoya looked down for a moment, before she raised her head, an odd smile on her lips.

"What about the second stanza?" Otoya asked.

"Oh, huh… it was about how the world was full of pretty flowers- so beautiful woman, and how she needs to cut them all. This is all about the obsession she had with beauty, more specifically preserving it. It's like she's taking away their beauty to fill some emptiness inside of her. A void in her heart…"

"Why do you think she has this emptiness?"

"She's born with it. Well, more exactly, emotional numbness. Psychopaths have a thinner amygdala, which makes them unable to feel empathy, fear, stress, and lower their emotions. Which can result in a feeling of emptiness. Lots of them have to fill it with something, usually power, money, sex. Jackie fills it mostly with sexual pleasure she's getting from killing beautiful women, from the feeling that she's preserving their beauty. She used to fill that void in her heart with her mother, but after she killed her, she had to find other sources of beauty to satisfy her hunger, to fill the void."

Otoya looked thoughtful for a moment, as if this statement resonated with her.

"So it's not psychological, her brain literally is different than the average people," Otoya concluded.

A soft smirked appeared for a brief moment on Otoya's lips before she finished her coffee, then eating some of her eggs.

"And the third stanza?" Otoya asked.

"Well, she talked about… a bud. Once again, a woman. She wondered in what kind of flower she would bloom, or if she'll even bloom. She then playfully wondered if she should kill her or not. And then she mentioned the bud plant a seed in her… which I'm not quite sure what it means."

"What do you think this whole stanza is about?"

"Well, huh, my friend thought it represents Jackie's next victim, but I don't think it's exactly that. This bud, she hasn't bloomed and may never bloom because… this woman isn't pretty. Well, not Jackie's type. But somehow, Jackie is intrigued by her. She wondered if she's worth being cut, if she has somehow some form of beauty worth preserving. Jackie remained curious about this bud who caused an emotional reaction in her, the 'seed' she planted in her… something like desire…"

"Love?"

"I suppose from her point of view, it could be considered as love. But not the type of love that you have towards people, it's the type of love… you would have towards objects. She literally views women as the same as flowers, not actual human beings…"

"And who is this bud she's talking about?"

"Well, remember how I said that… Jackie knew I was tracking her? Well, somehow, I feel like… this poem is dedicated to me. I'm the bud she's talking about."

"Yeah, I remember. But how could she know you would know about this poem?"

"I… I'm not quite sure," Shiena pretended. "Maybe she guessed I have a friend in the police?"

"Hm, perhaps," Otoya replied with an enigmatic smile.

"Still, Jackie is basically saying that I'm not her type… which is probably a good thing, given what she does to women who are her type."

"I'm kind of envious, I wish Jackie was obsessed with me."

"I'm quite scared, to be honest, but also… excited."

"Excited? How so?"

"Well, I don't know how to explain it… it just made me feel special, you know. Like I matter somehow. I don't know if I'm happy or terrified, to be frank, it's kind of a mix of both. It feels good to know my efforts are being recognized and that Jackie acknowledged me."

Otoya finished up her eggs as she listened carefully to Shiena, who started to feel embarrassed.

"I must sound like those crazy fangirls obsessing over some actors, how ridiculous am I…"

"No, you're not. You're genuinely passionate, you're intelligent and different from the majority. Quite frankly, I think it makes you beautiful."

Shiena blushed furiously at that.

"T-Thanks," Shiena replied, quickly finishing up her coffee.

Otoya chuckled before she looked at her phone.

"Oh, I had something planned for the afternoon, I'll have to go. Thanks for having me… wait, I should do the dishes first…"

"No, it's fine, I'll take care of it," Shiena proposed.

They both rose up as Otoya put the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Thanks, you're so good to me, even though I'm acting like such a spoiled brat…"

"You're not, you're just not shy… I should have some of your confidence."

Otoya smiled softly as she gently hugged Shiena, which left her with a racing heart.

"Seeya soon, have a good day!" Otoya said as she put back her boots and coat, leaving the apartment.

And as fast as she came, Otoya was gone, leaving Shiena all flustered and flushed. She kept thinking about the poem, feeling like it really was dedicated to her. Since Jack took the time to write her a poem, there was only one thing left to do for her.

She sat back and opened her laptop, before she started typing.

* * *

**What's the meaning behind Shiena's nightmare? And what will she do regarding the poem? Let me know what you think!**


	14. What is love?

**Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday everyone! I wanted to post this chapter on Christmas but I got awfully busy. I'll be leaving for a week to visit my girlfriend (gotta take the plane) so there may not be a chapter next week, but I'll see you soon. I hope you had a good holiday!**

**warning: implied sexuality and mention of non-con**

* * *

Sticking her key in the doorknob, Otoya unlocked the door and entered her house. She removed her boots and coat and was tempted to just drop them, but decided to put them where they belonged right away. A clean house was part of the game, the role of the perfect citizen she has built over the years. She needed to keep the illusion of the normal woman, any respectable woman wouldn't live in a messy place. Well at least, to society's standard.

After she was done she headed for her room and closed the door behind her. As usual, her room was a real mess, the only spot in the house that wasn't clean. Otoya never showed her bedroom to anyone, so she didn't see the point in cleaning this place. Well, she did show it to Shiena, but she knew a dropout such as herself wouldn't mind the mess anyway, there was no point and hiding it. And she felt that showing her room to Shiena would make her believe that she trusted her, that it was a good way to gain a few friendly points from the brunette.

She threw away her bag on the floor and untied her hair, running a hand throw it. She left the elastic on her desk as she started to strip. Part of her clothes ended up on her bed, the rest on the floor. She grabbed her pyjama, a purple sweater with pants of the same colour, and put it on. The fabric was soft and comfy to wear, her sense of touch always been particularly sensitive.

She bet that Shiena's hair and skin were even softer.

This thought made her smile.

Shiena was so cute, she wished she could keep her as a pet. She looked like a really fluffy puppy or kitty. She would keep her in a cage, make her walk with a leash, and pet her. And maybe rape her. Not that Shiena interested her sexuality, but she bet her cry of pain would be fun to hear. Each time she was alone with her she had the temptation of simply pin her and stick in fingers in her pussy and thrust her tongue in her mouth. How would she sound like when she moans? Probably really adorable.

Otoya took a deep breath. She was starting to get a little bit too excited. She was having so much fun playing with Shiena like that, she hoped her pleasure wouldn't stop so soon and would last long. But still, she really wondered why she was so captivated by a bland girl such as Shiena. What was so precious about her? Why would a bud make her feel that way? Could she just sense some inner potential for beauty if she finally blooms? No matter the reason, Otoya intended to have as much fun as she could.

She went to her computer and launched Facebook. Despite how easy it would be to find prey on social media, Otoya usually avoided it. It would leave proof that she knew the victims. But it was a good way to learn more about the women she decided to target, but she cautiously avoided to befriend them. She needed to leave no proof of her knowing the victims.

She went on Shiena's profile, which she did each day now. She needed to see if she posted anything, she often shared interesting news articles. She saw that Shiena indeed posted something, a text- more exactly, a poem.

"Born unwanted

Neglected and lonely

Ostracize and ridicule by my pers

A world devoid of colours

That is my gloomy fate

.

A stain started to grow in me

Tainting my soul and heart

I'm falling in a gulf of pure blackness

I can see the light far away

But I simply cannot reach it

.

What is this darkness I'm so attracted to

She's cold yet also warm

Alluring and mysterious

I'm still falling in the gulf

Right into her arms"

This made Otoya chuckled. So Shiena decided to improvise herself as a poet too. Interesting.

This was a clear response to her own poem. Knowing that Shiena was enough affected by it to write her her own made her quite happy. It felt like she had control over her, like she was leading her every step. She was nothing more than her precious little plaything.

Otoya reread the poem. It was quite lovely, but it reeked with insecurity, low self-esteem and self-deprecation. Shiena was so pathetic and miserable, it was so funny. She almost had pity for her. Almost. People like her are so easy to manipulate. It didn't take her much to seduce her and made her all head over heels for her. A couple of compliments, some kind words of comfort, and that were it. Shiena blushed so easily to anything she said, it was so adorable and pitiful. She was eating out from her hand.

The first stanza was obviously about how she was bullied. Shiena never told her, but it was pretty obvious she had been bullied in the past. How pathetic. Otoya was a bully herself, it was easy for her to spot good targets, and Shiena was the exact type that was fun to mistreat and tease. What did she mean by born unwanted? Was she an accident? Seemed plausible. Another thing Otoya could use at her own advantage.

About the second stanza, it seemed like Shiena felt like she had some inner darkness in her. How funny. Shiena was one of the purest girls she ever knew. What was this light she couldn't reach? Happiness? She's falling in a gulf because of her obsession with serial killers, getting swallow in their blackness.

The third stanza was about specific darkness. She referred to it as 'she', so it was a woman. A woman who was cold yet warm, alluring and mysterious. Otoya smiled at that. Just as much the last stanza of her own poem was about Shiena, this one was about her. She felt her ego inflating. She liked how she affected Shiena, how obsessed she was with her. This gave her a powerful feeling. The love Shiena was giving her was so addictive and intoxicating. For the first time, someone loved her true self.

"Fall right into my arms, Shiena-chan. I'll catch you. I'll snuggle you. I'll love you. _Then I'll kill you._"

Otoya giggled at that last though. When she game will be over, there would be no point in keeping an obsolete toy. When Shiena will have accomplished her purpose, it will be time for her to meet the same fate as all the others.

But Shiena wasn't like the others. Otoya couldn't understand well, but it felt like she was more precious. Something inside of her… made her truly beautiful.

Otoya decided to not overthink that, when will be the time to kill her, she'll kill her with no hesitation. She swore it. She turned off her computer and laid down in bed, her center being pretty warm and yet, and with a grin on her face, she decided to satisfy her need.

* * *

At her desk, Shiena was investigating the case of the Demolisher. She was rereading the previous rapports about their murders, about the victims and such. She remembered what she discussed with Otoya. They established that the culprit was most likely psychotic, they look innocent and attracted sympathy and they probably don't intend to kill when they met their future victims in various shops and restaurants. Once the victim got a liking for them, they might hang out a little, and something- probably with the victims' behaviour- triggered a psychotic attack and they kill them.

She knew that some of the victims met a girl before getting killed. It was likely that it was the same girl for all of them and that she was related to the murder. It was highly possible that she was the killer herself, suffering from psychosis. The other possibility was for this girl to be an accomplice and someone else was killing those people, she simply lured them. Or perhaps she wasn't even aware she was a lure.

"_One person. Two people. Which one is it?_" Shiena wondered.

She felt like this girl was around the victims' ages. So in her mid-twenties. If she truly was psychotic there must be specific events in her childhood or when she was a teenager. Shiena suddenly got an idea. She went on a website of newspapers archives and started a researched. She limited it by years, a range of years of which the girl would have been a child or a teen, and also limited by prefelecture. Then she added few key words and launched the research.

She found a whole bunch of articles about kids and teenagers violent rampage, delusions, or anything that suggested a psychosis. Some of them attacked people, others tried to commit suicide, some panicked and locked themselves, some kidnapping, animal abuses, etc. Shiena went through all those articles, trying to find someone who would match the culprit she profiled.

One article suddenly caught her attention: Young teenage boy vengeance against his bullies.

This reminded some bad memories to Shiena, this darkness she had inside her. The article seemed to be about a boy so she didn't think it was the person she was looking for but, curious, she decided to read it anyway.

"_Young teenage boy, victims of heavy bullying at his school, decided to get revenge against his persecutors. He ambushed them in a park in night and violently assault his bullies with a rock. They all survived but ended up with severe injuries, particularly to the head. Some of them are in critical state at the hospital, one even in a coma. The culprit got apprehended by the police and is currently held at the police station. According to some source the young man as an history of psychotic attacks. We're still waiting to see if the families of the victims will press charges._"

Shiena couldn't help but feel sympathy for that boy. She could personally understand what he went through. She could relate to him and deep down, she felt like she could have follow the same path as him, and it terrified her.

She scrolled down a little and froze when she saw the picture of the boy.

"_This person… isn't it…?_"

"Hey, Shiena-san."

Shiena jolted and turned back. With no surprise, she saw that it was Haru, who was smiling happily at her.

"Hey, Ichinose."

"I read your poem on Facebook. It's really well done!" Haru complimented.

Shiena remembered that Haru sent her a friend request some time ago and she accepted simply to not hurt her feelings. She posted this poem for Jack and Jack only. She knew that Jack was probably stalking her profile, and she felt the need to respond to her poem. Jack opened up part of her heart to her, she only find it fair to do the same. She let her know part of her inner darkness, share part of her feelings for her. She knew Jack was probably laughing at her right now, but she didn't care. She simply wanted to be honest and fair. But now realizing that other people could also read it made her embarrassed, and a little bit worried that they might understand too much of it.

"Oh, it's just an old poem I wrote back in high school, I found it back in my files and decided to post it," Shiena pretended.

"It's really good! But kind of dark and sad… what does it represent?"

"Uh… Well, I was kind of… bullying back then. It felt like I was suck by a void of darkness and… I couldn't reach the light anymore. At some point I even started to get used to this and nearly got stuck in the darkness… I was edgy when I wrote that, I don't even know why I post it after so long, I must look ridiculous right now…"

Haru softly took Shiena's hands and smiled at her kindly.

"It's not ridiculous, Shiena-san. It's a beautiful poem that came from your heart. I'm so sorry for what you went through. But at least is over now, right?"

Shiena felt like Haru was genuinely sincere, but she doubt she could truly understand her. A girl like Haru was unlikely to have go through what she went through, she would never get the pain of being bullied. But still, Shiena appreciated her sympathy towards her, and kind of felt bad for lying.

"Do you have any plan for the holiday?" Haru asked.

"The holiday…? Oh, right, it's Christmas soon. Uh… I don't know. Usually I don't do much at Christmas."

Shiena had no friend in real life, she didn't really talk to her family anymore, so she was always alone at Christmas. At first it made her sad, but now she didn't care. She got used to it.

"What about you? Are you going to see some friends or your family?" Shiena asked.

Haru continued to smile, but there was something sad in her eyes. Shiena realized that it might not have been a good question to ask.

"My family… died when I was a child, in a car accident," Haru said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's okay. I'm not sad anymore. I know they are watching over me from up there, part of them is in my heart. It's not like I'm alone on Christmas, I'm usually spend it with friends. And this year… I'm going to invite Tokaku-san."

Shiena felt some shame. She always had judged Haru so harshily, thinking that her life always been easy, but it seemed that she was wrong. She couldn't imagine the pain of losing your family, it must have been awful. She felt so much sympathy for Haru now and regret her misjudgement.

"I wish you luck with Azuma," Shiena said.

"Thanks! Hm, maybe you could… do something with Takechi-san?"

Shiena immediately felt her heart racing.

"I… Why? Why would I?" Shiena mumbled nervously.

"Well, you two seem pretty close, and she's quite beautiful. You should try inviting her to dinner," Haru suggested with wink.

Shiena blushed a little bit. A dinner with Otoya… it was tempting. But she was way too shy to invite her. Otoya probably already had plan for Christmas, she knew her parents were dead, but a woman like her must have other friends… or even a girlfriend. She did say she was single, but she might have someone in mind. And Shiena doubted it was her.

"M-Maybe, I… I'll see if she is available," Shiena said with no conviction.

She then noticed that Haru was staring at her screen. Shiena turned back and saw that she still had the article. She quickly closed it and turned back to look at her coworker when suddenly, her phone rang.

"Ah, excuse me," Shiena said.

"Oh, it's fine, go ahead."

Shiena pulled out her phone and answered it, wondering who it could be.

"Hi?"

"Hey, Shiena-san!"

Shiena almost felt her heart stopping. What a huge coincidence that she called right now.

"Hey, Takechi… what's up?"

"Not much, you?"

"Not much either, I'm working right now."

"Oh, sorry, am I bothering you?"

"No no, it's fine. Why are you calling?"

"Well, I won a discount in a fancy restaurant and I can bring one person with me, so I was wondering if you would like to go with me? It's for dinner, the 24th. I understand you might have other plans for Christmas Eve and I understand if you can't, but you're the first person I thought of."

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe what she just heard. What were the chances that Otoya would call her at this exact moment to ask her exactly that? It almost sounded like a miracle. A Christmas Miracle.

"Uh… Shiena-san? Are you still there?"

"Eh? Oh, huh, yeah, I'm still here. Um… Sure, I would love to, thanks!"

"Perfect! I'll send you the address by message text. Have a good day!"

And Otoya hung up. Shiena remained speechless, she still couldn't believe what just happened. Otoya just invited her to spend Christmas Eve with her at a fancy restaurant. It felt like a dream come true. Haru looked at her with curiosity, probably wondering what it was about.

"It was Takechi-san? What did she want?" Haru asked.

"She wanted… to invite me to a fancy restaurant for the 24th. And I said yes."

Haru's eyes were now full of sparkles as she grabbed Shiena's hands and shake them excitedly.

"This is wonderful! Right when I was telling you to invite her. It must be fate, it was your destiny to spend Christmas Eve together!"

Shiena blushed a little bit at that statement. It did feel like fate. Usually Shiena didn't believe in destiny, but maybe it was the case this time. She remained surprised that over anyone else, Otoya chose her. Maybe there was a chance between them after all.

"A fancy restaurant! You gotta dress well!" Haru said.

"Yeah… I have nothing fancy at home, I don't know what to wear… Should I put makeup? Do something with my hair?"

Haru's smile shine even brighter than the sun, Shiena was almost blinded.

"I can help you with that! We're around the same height so I could let you borrow something from me, and do your makeup and hair! You're going to be so beautiful for the big day!" Haru exclaimed.

"Ah… there's no need to do that, you will probably be busy the 24th…"

"I can do that before my plans. Pass by my house and I'll take care of everything, you can trust me."

Shiena hesitated a little. She didn't want to impose herself like that, but at the same time, Haru was so strongly proposing to do that. Shiena was kind of shy to let her take care of everything, but she knew that on her own she probably couldn't do a good job. She had no idea what to wear in a fancy restaurant and she wanted to look good for Otoya.

"Okay, I'll come to your house. Thanks for the offer, Ichinose."

Haru nodded happily. Shiena felt nervous, she was excited for this event but also worried. She was grateful to Haru for her help and wondered how she would dress her for the dinner.

She also wondered what she would get as a gift for Otoya.

* * *

"Here's your tea, Suzu-san~"

Otoya put the cup on the table and sat down, facing her fellow Black Guild's member. Suzu looked at the cup with a uncertain smile, which made Otoya giggled.

"What, do you think I put poison in it or something?" Otoya joked with a soft smile.

"Oh, of course not. Someone like you wouldn't never lower yourself to kill someone indirectly. I'm just wondering if you but anything funny like salt or pepper."

"Hehe, you gonna have to try it to know~"

Suzu chuckled at that thought and finally took a sip of her tea, tasting it carefully, before swallowing it.

"That's just some good old green tea," Suzu said.

"Yeah, as if I would have put something in it. That wouldn't have been childish~"

"Talking about poison reminded me that we used to have a poisoner in the guild. She disappeared with no explanation and when I tried to ask Kuzunoha she always said 'don't worry about it' with that particular smile of hers."

Otoya took a sip of her coffee, absentmindedly listening.

"She probably failed her mission and they got rid of her," Otoya said with a total lack of interest.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

A silence settled between them for a moment as they both enjoyed their respective drink.

"So, how did you find me? I was surprised when you suddenly messaged me on Facebook, with a fake account," Otoya said.

"It wasn't that hard. I looked for every Takechi in the prefecture, and I ended up finding your profile. Your profile looks totally normal, nothing I wasn't expecting from you."

"Well, now you know everything about me. You sure you aren't scared that I might kill you?" Otoya said with a sweet smile.

"I know you're a smart woman, you know it would be damn stupid to kill me. And you know I'm not dumb enough to denounce my own ally," Suzu said calmly.

"I must admit I'm impressed. You know what kind of person I am yet you remind so unfazed. Most people would be terrified to be in the same room as me if they knew who I truly am."

"I'm not most people," Suzu simply replied, sipping her tea.

"I can see that."

Otoya wasn't sure how she felt about that situation. It was bad that someone knew so much about her, but at the same time, she knew Suzu wouldn't report her. It was simply not in her best interest to do that, so she wasn't a threat to her per se. Suzu was kind of intriguing, a woman like her was out of ordinary. She seemed decently smart, knowledgeable and entertaining. A 'friend' with whom she can allow to be herself.

"What do you want from me?" Otoya asked.

"Simply friendship. I think you're an interesting person and I would love to discuss with you."

"Being friend huh… I did think of it. Sure, let's be friends!" Otoya said cheerfully.

"That cheery act of yours is part of your mask, right? A really convincing one, I must say. You perfectly blend with others, no one could ever doubt you're actually a psychopath."

"Thanks, it took me years to build this mask."

"But still, no need to wear with me. We're friends, aren't we?"

Otoya continued to smile for a moment before her expression turned stoic, her eyes cold like Antarctica.

"How does it feel, the remove your mask?" Suzu asked.

"It's like resting after an important physical effort. Smiling all day can be so tiresome."

"Do you hate this?"

"No, not really. I find it funny. It's all part of a game for me, and I'm used to that persona."

Otoya took another sip of her coffee. She usually never show her true face to anyone. Well, except maybe to her victims when she kills them, but never to someone she had no intent to hurt.

"Now that you know who I am, wouldn't it be fair that you tell me more about yourself?" Otoya asked.

"Well, what would you like to know?"

"You full name."

"Sorry, can't tell you that."

"Then what's your relationship with Kouko-san? Why do you know each other outside Black Guild?"

"We actually met before joining Black Guild. Me and Kouko-chan work at the same place. Kuzunoha contacted both of us and invited us to Black Guild."

"And why did you accept to join?"

"It's kind of private, but let's just say it's related to Kouko-chan's past. I simply accepted so she wouldn't be alone there."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you. You really love her, don't you?"

"I do. Kouko-chan is my most important person."

Otoya could never understand that. There was no one that could possibly that important in her eyes. Love was an emotion that always been unknown to her. She faintly remembered feeling something that may have been affection a long time ago, but it didn't matter to her anymore. Love was stupid anyway, it made you weak and dependant, she was glad that she was above such foolish emotion.

"And where do you work?" Otoya asked.

"Ah, I can't tell you that either."

"Aww, not even a clue?"

"Hmm… no. But judging by my personality and Kouko's, try to guess."

Otoya thought about it. Suzu seemed wise and knowledgeable, while Kouko seemed smart and strict, even bossy. There was only one type of work she could think of.

"Are you both teachers? You're working in the same school?" Otoya said.

Suzu gave off a sly smile as she sipped her tea.

"Maybe~"

Otoya smiled. That woman was truly interesting. Someone to be worthy to be called her friend. She could be useful, or at least be a good way to spend time. It was always pleasant to discuss with someone intelligent with who she didn't have to pretend to be nice.

"I suppose you're going to spend the holiday together," Otoya said.

"We did have plan something special for Christmas. What about you? Do you have a special someone?" Suzu asked.

"Kinda. I invited a girl to have dinner with me on Christmas Eve."

"Oh, tell me about that girl. How did you meet her?" Suzu asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"At my workplace. We met after and discovered we have… interest in common," Otoya said with a chuckle.

"Let me guess… your future victim?"

"Haha… no. This girl serves another purpose to me, I intend to keep her alive. For now."

"Oh, really? She must be quite special if you don't intend to kill her."

"Eh, not really. She's pretty bland, with an ordinary face. Kind of a nerd. But… She intrigues me. She's entertaining. It feels like she has… a pure heart. Some inner beauty that I'm not used to seeing in women. A pure heart is rare."

"So she's like the light, you're instinctively attracted to your opposite, like the yin and the yang."

"Hm… you could see it like that, I suppose."

"Would you say you love her?"

"Love… can someone like me really feel that?"

"Who knows… most experts say no, people like you can't produce the chemical reaction know as love, but… I believe love can be more than that. I believe that even someone like you can feel love, maybe not like me, but it's still love regardless. And the way you talk about that girl… feel like love to me."

Otoya mused about that. She thought love was stupid but perhaps she did love Shiena, in her own way. It sounded kind of cheesy and sappy, but she didn't dislike it. Love was a game like any others, and she was the type who liked to win. She'll play this game called love and triumphed- Shiena's heart will be hers. And once the game is over, she'll get her reward.

_Shiena's bloody and warm heart that she'll have taken from her ripped chest._

Otoya giggled at that thought as she drank another sip of her coffee, enjoying the bitter taste.

Suzu suddenly looked at her watch and rose up.

"I got to go back to work, sorry. It was nice talking to you, let's do that again soon," Suzu said.

"Just add me on Facebook and we'll stay in touch~"

"Haha, as if. I blocked you with my regular account, and so did Kouko-chan."

"Ah, fair."

"But I can still talk to you with my other account."

"Sure. Well, seeya!"

"Bye!"

Suzu grabbed her tea and left the café, while Otoya remained sitting, finishing her coffee, pondering.

A sinister smile appeared on her lips.

Today she made a friend.

And soon, she'll have a new girlfriend.

* * *

**When will Shiena run away? She's running right in the wolf den. Poor little hare that she is.**

**I wanted to write the Christmas chapter on actual Christmas but I couldn't, sorry. But hey, I'm still close, so it's good enough. **

**Seeya next time!**


	15. Last Christmas I gave you my heart

**Hi there! I'm back from my vacation, I had a wonderful time with my girlfriend (thanks to her for proofreading this chapter). I'm back for more Codename Jackie, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Shiena remained dazed by the building she was standing in front of. It was the biggest restaurant she ever went to, it looked so fancy and rich. She looked at the door with hesitation, wondering if she should really step in. She felt like she didn't belong there, that she would be like a stain on a perfect white sheet. She was worried that she wasn't worthy of such a place. But someone was waiting for her, and she went through all the trouble to be perfect for her. Shiena took a deep breath, gathering up all her courage, and finally stepped inside.

The interior was even more astonishing. It was so huge, well decorated, and everyone looked so elegant and classy. It only made Shiena felt even more like she didn't belong there. She was tempted to go back but before she could recoil a waitress approached her.

"Excuse me miss, do you have a reservation?" the waitress asked.

"Oh, huh, I'm supposed to meet… a friend. Her name is Takechi Otoya," Shiena replied nervously.

"Yes, just a moment please," the waitress said as she went behind her computer. "Miss Takechi is already here, you can follow me. Would you leave me your coat?"

"Eh, sure," Shiena said, uncertain as she removed her coat, feeling embarrassed to expose her outfit.

The waitress took her coat and gestured Shiena to follow her. Her heart was racing like crazy as she walked between the tables, feeling gazes all over her. She was worried that the people here found her weird or she stood out in a bad way. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, following the waitress until she reached her table.

Otoya rose up when she saw Shiena. She was wearing a white shirt with a purple tie, which suited her very well. Otoya's eyes were wide open in disbelief as she gazed at her.

"Shiena…san?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah…?"

Shiena began to be worried. She was wearing a simple cream dress, her hair was straightened but still a little wavy, untied, with a hairpin exposing part of her forehead. She was wearing some makeup but nothing too much, and instead of her glasses she was wearing contact lenses. It was all Haru's work, who was now enjoying the night with Tokaku.

"You… you're so beautiful," Otoya finally said with a smile and admiration in her eyes.

Shiena was so happy and relieved to hear those words. Her heart calmed down a little as she felt her cheeks becoming warmer. Otoya then pulled out a chair and gestured Shiena to sit down.

"You may sit," Otoya said politely with a wink.

"T-Thanks," Shiena replied, a little bit shy.

Shiena sat down, followed by Otoya. The waitress gave them two menus.

"Do you want anything to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Uh... a coffee? With a little sugar and milk," Shiena asked.

"A coffee too, black, thanks," Otoya said.

Shiena was a little bit surprised. Didn't Otoya use to drink hers with cream and sugar? It didn't seem to be an important detail so Shiena didn't mind it, starting to read the menu while the waitress walked away.

"What are you going to order?" Otoya asked.

"I don't know, I… I'm not used to fancy restaurants," Shiena admitted, embarrassed.

"Hehe, I had a doubt. You feel like the type of girl who enjoys fast food."

"... I do…"

"It's fine. I personally dislike those. Let's say that I'm quite the gourmet, I have a well-developed sense of taste."

Shiena remembered Otoya's reaction to the food at her house. Otoya had fancy and refined tastes, which put a certain amount of pressure on Shiena, who feared that she wouldn't be able to satisfy her. Not that she disliked fancy food, but she would rather go eat in Mcdonald's than here.

"I think I'll take a rare steak," Otoya said.

Shiena continued to look through the menu. She was quite picky with her food so she wasn't sure what to take. She decided to take what seemed the less fancy option in her eyes.

"I'll take the alfredo spaghetti," Shiena said.

"Oh, that's a good choice too."

The waitress came back with their respective coffees and set them down in front of them.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll take a rare steak and she'll take the alfredo spaghetti," Otoya said as she handed her the two menus.

"Very well, it shouldn't take too long."

The waitress walked away again as Otoya started to sip her coffee.

"Isn't it too strong?" Shiena asked.

"Hm? Oh, my coffee? I like it bitter. I like bitter stuff."

"But you wanted cream and sugar at my home…"

"Oh, really? I like to switch from time to time, to have good diversity. Right now I'm craving the bitter taste~"

Shiena started to drink her own coffee while she noticed Otoya simply gazing at her with a soft smile.

"Takechi?"

"Sorry, I just… can't help but look at you. You're so stunning, I love what you did to your hair."

She felt a rush of blood in her cheeks again and her heart racing.

"T-Thanks…"

Suddenly, Otoya reached over the table and ran a hand through her hair, softly stroking it.

"Yeah, it's still soft, I like that."

Shiena felt like her entire face was red now. Hopefully, the foundation was hiding it.

"Oh, uh… I got you a gift," Shiena said nervously.

"Ah, same here. Show me~"

With a trembling hand, Shiena looked through her purse (which she never used before) and pulled out a box messily wrapped in Christmas paper, before handing it to Otoya.

"It's… it's for you," Shiena said shyly.

A smile on her lips, Otoya took the gift.

"Thanks, Shiena-san!" she said happily as she started to open it.

Shiena felt anxious. What if Otoya didn't like her gift? What if it wasn't a good idea after all? She could feel cold sweat dripping down her back, nervously playing with her fingers, waiting for Otoya to open it.

When she finished removing the paper, Otoya opened the box, under the worried gaze of Shiena. She then pulled out the gift from the box, a small ornament representing a bouquet of flowers made of ceramic. Otoya's gaze became stoic for a moment and Shiena felt like her heart had stopped.

"I… Well, you said how you like flowers but don't like to keep them in your house because you dislike seeing them rot away, so I thought… you would maybe like flowers that will never fade away? You know, like… eternally blooming flowers or something," Shiena exclaimed nervously.

Otoya remained silent, still staring at the flowers ornament. Shiena tensed up as she started to regret her gift.

"Sorry, maybe it wasn't a good idea-"

Suddenly, a cheerful smile appeared on Otoya's face.

"I love it!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, Shiena-san. It was a good idea."

Shiena let out a discreet sigh of relief. She got really worried for a moment that she had made a mistake, but it turned out that it was a good idea after all.

"Here, let me give you your present now," Otoya said as she took out a small box from her purse.

It was a simple white box kept closed with a red ribbon. She handed it to Shiena who took it with a shivering hand, having a hard time opening it. When she finally managed to open it, she nearly dropped it and caught it in time, before taking out what was inside.

It was a silver pendant in the shape of a heart with a purplish stone in the middle. Shiena remained stunned by how beautiful it was, and by how much it must have cost.

"Oh, Takechi… you shouldn't have…"

"You don't like it?"

"No, it's not that… it's beautiful… but you shouldn't have spent so much for me."

"Oh, don't worry about it, I got a discount on it," Otoya reassured.

"Another discount?"

"Hehe, what can I say, I'm crazy lucky. So don't worry about it, it barely cost anything, and I thought it was beautiful. When I saw it, I couldn't help but picture it around your neck. I'm sure it will suit you so well. Let's just try it right now."

Shiena felt a little bit shy and nervous as Otoya rose up, taking the necklace, before going behind the brunette. She gently lifted her hair to get her neck free while Shiena felt her heart beating faster. Otoya slipped the pendant under her chin and the chain touched Shiena's skin, which made her shiver a little. The metal was kind of cold. Otoya then tied it behind her neck and Shiena looked down. The pendant was truly beautiful. Otoya went back to sit at her place, admiring Shiena.

"Yes, it truly suits you," Otoya said with a soft smile.

Shiena blushed at the compliment while Otoya chuckled. Shiena took the heart in her hand and examined it.

"This stone… what is it?"

"It's an amethyst. Since it's your month's stone, I thought it would suit you. Purple does fit you."

"It would suit you better with your purple hair."

"Hehe, but I do like seeing a colour that represents me on you, Shiena-san~"

This comment made Shiena so happy. She felt a little bit complex though, Otoya gave her a piece of jewelry, while she only gave her a cheap ornament. But Otoya genuinely seemed happy with her gift, and she said hers didn't cost that much, so maybe that was fine. After all, it was the intention that mattered.

Their orders finally arrived, the waitress put Otoya's steak in front of her and Shiena's alfredo spaghetti.

"Enjoy your meal," the waitress said as she walked away.

"Wow, you sure do like your steak bloody," Shiena commented.

"Hehe, I like blood. And I'm a true carnivore."

"Well, as long as you only eat animals' meat…"

"Hm… who knows? Human flesh might be good… I may be tempted to eat Shiena-san~"

Shiena froze for a moment, uncertain about what she just heard until Otoya started to laugh.

"I'm just kidding, don't worry. Anyway, if I ever eat you, that will be in a much different and much more pleasant way."

Shiena instinctively squeezed her legs and felt her center becoming hotter. What did she mean by that? It couldn't be what she thought, right? Or perhaps…

"Aww, you're all red. I was just joking, relax. Now let's just eat, shall we?" Otoya said.

Shiena wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. She started to eat her dinner, noticing the broccoli. She tossed them away, her who hated all veggies. Otoya was cutting her steak, seeming to enjoy the process, before she took a bite of this rare steak. They both ate at their own pace, enjoying their food. Shiena looked at her pendant from time to time, happy that Otoya got her that, even though she wasn't the jewelry type. But it came from Otoya, so she would gladly wear it.

"So, did you learn anything new about Jackie or the Demolisher?" Otoya casually asked between two bites.

"Oh, well… you see, Jackie's poem… I decided to reply to it. You probably saw it on Facebook… I dedicated it to her."

"Yeah, I saw it. Really lovely. Care to tell me more about the meaning?"

"Ah… I don't really feel like talking about it now, sorry…"

"Oh, it's fine, I won't force you. I just wish that one day, you'll feel comfortable enough with me to tell me."

Those words somehow comforted Shiena. She was glad that Otoya didn't insist, and she too, wished that one day she'll feel at ease enough to tell her about her dark past.

"Thank you, Takechi."

"No need to thank me, I'm just doing what any decent person would," Otoya brushed away. "So, what about the Demolisher?"

"Oh, them… well, I have a suspect in mind."

"Ah? And who might that be?"

"I… prefer to keep it to myself for now, in case I'm wrong."

"Ah, I understand. Can you at least tell me if they are a man or a woman?"

"It's… kind of complicated. I would say that they are a girl, but… maybe not always."

"Hm, sounds mysterious… But I'll take it."

Shiena continued to eat. She did enjoy talking about serial killers with Otoya, but she wanted to keep the Demolisher case for herself, given that she was about to do something reckless that Otoya might disapprove of. And for once, she wanted to talk about something else with her.

"What kind of passion… did you have before?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Huh? You mean like… when I was younger?"

"Yeah, like… when you were in high school."

"Oh… Well I was in the gardening club, but I also hung out in the cooking club too. I love growing flowers and cooking, and I still do~"

"Ah, I see."

"What about you? What did you use to do when you were younger?"

"Uh, well… my interest used to be theatre. I always enjoyed… watching plays. To see the actors play live is just such a wonderful experience. It's not like TV, they can't redo it if they make a mistake, so it's much more stressful- yet they must feel so much adrenaline and satisfaction when they finish. I feel like being a theatre actor is much more rewarding than being a TV actor. Other kids found me weird for preferring going to theatre than watching TV, and as I grew older, I wanted to be part of it."

Shiena suddenly felt bad for rambling so much, but Otoya looked so interested in everything she was saying.

"Like, to be an actor?" Otoya asked.

"Not really, I don't have the confidence to be an actor. I much prefer to be the one writing and directing the play. You know, a dramatist."

"Oh. Then why didn't you become one?"

"Well… I was tempted to study in an art college, but… people dissuaded me. They said art was not a suitable job for me, that it would be hard for me to pay the bills with that. They suggested me instead to rely on my other talents, because it was a field with a lot of job prospects."

"You mean… computer science?"

"Yeah, I became a computer technician because it was safer, I knew I would be able to earn enough money to survive. But sometimes, I wonder what would have been my life if I decided to follow my dreams and become a dramatist."

It was one of Shiena's biggest regrets. She couldn't help but wonder if she would have succeeded as a dramatist, maybe she would have been happier this way.

Otoya softly took her hand and smiled gently.

"I'm sure you would have been a wonderful dramatist, Shiena-san."

Shiena felt moved by the compliment. Otoya was so nice to her, she was so happy she met her.

They continued to eat their dinner, Shiena having almost finished her spaghetti, without having touched the broccoli.

"That's not good, Shiena-san. You gotta eat your veggies."

"But… I don't like veggies…"

"It's good for your health."

"I eat fruits from time to time, so it's fine-"

"No. Vegetables and fruits don't have the same vitamins, you need both."

Otoya was acting like a mom right now. Shiena was a little bit annoyed, but she knew she must only be worried about her health. Her parents never bothered to make her eat her veggies as a child, so Shiena never got used to it.

"Eat them," Otoya said.

"N-No…"

"Just one. For me," Otoya said, almost pleading.

Shiena sighed. Otoya was looking at her with puppy eyes, she couldn't refuse. She looked at the broccoli with disgust and took a deep breath, before putting one in her mouth.

She couldn't bear with the texture and the taste was repulsive. But she forced herself to chew, to please Otoya. She quickly swallowed it, feeling a little bit nauseous. For a split-second, Otoya had a smirk on her lips, before she smiled happily.

"You did it, Shiena-san! I'm so proud of you!"

Shiena immediately drank some coffee to wash off the disgusting taste in her mouth. Otoya finished up her steak and her coffee.

"Ah, that was so good!" Otoya said. "Now I'm ready for dessert. Hey, waitress!"

A waitress who passed by stopped, approaching them.

"Yes miss?"

"We are done with the main meal, we would like dessert."

"Of course. The dessert menus are right here, I'll come back in a moment."

"Thank you."

Otoya took the menu and started looking at it, which Shiena did too. She didn't have much of a sweet tooth so she wasn't that fond of cake. She wanted something not too sweet and with a soft taste. She looked through the options and made a choice.

"So, what are you going to take?" Otoya asked.

"I'll go for the creme brulee," Shiena said.

"Oh, interesting choice. Hm… so many good options, which one to choose… I'll go with the cheesecake."

The waitress came back a little later to take their orders.

"I'll have the cheesecake and she'll take the creme brulee," Otoya said.

"Excellent choice, I'll bring you that in a moment."

Shiena finished up her coffee, but was still curious about some aspects of Otoya.

"Hey… how did you know that… you were gay?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Hm? Oh, well, I met a girl when I was a teen. She was so beautiful and she asked me out, so we dated. But we eventually broke up because we didn't feel like we were a good match. But at least it helped me figure out my sexuality."

"Oh, I see… how many girlfriends did you have… if it's not too much to ask?"

Otoya chuckled.

"A couple, but it never really ended up well. I never was lucky in love. I could never find that one special girl that would fill the void in my heart. I try to stay hopeful and optimistic, but… sometimes I feel like it's impossible…"

Otoya suddenly looked down with sadness in her eyes. Feeling sympathy for her, Shiena softly grabbed her hand, gently stroking it.

"I'm sure you'll find the right person, Takechi. You're such a great woman, kind and generous, anyone would want to be with you. I… I think the right person might be closer to you than you think, she must be waiting for you, to fill the own void she also has in her heart."

Shiena couldn't believe she dared to say that. She anxiously looked at Otoya, waiting for her reaction. She simply smiled at that, looking moved.

"Thank you, Shiena-san. I'll stay hopeful then. I'm sure you'll find the right person too soon."

Shiena wasn't sure if those words comforted or hurt her. Otoya didn't understand what she meant by that, but at the same time, perhaps it was better that way. Shiena wasn't ready yet to tell her her feelings.

The waitress came back with their desserts and she set them down in front of them.

"Thank you," Otoya said.

"Thanks," Shiena added.

The waitress bowed before she walked away. Shiena grabbed her spoon and looked at her creme brulee. It did look quite tasty. She took a bit of it, satisfied with the sweet yet soft taste. She saw that Otoya was starting to eat her cake.

"Mmm, delicious," Otoya said as she licked her lips. "What about yours?"

"It's quite good I must say," Shiena said before taking another bite.

Otoya took another bite of her cake before a soft smirk appeared on her lips.

"What about you? How did you find out you were gay?" Otoya suddenly asked.

Shiena nearly choked on her food. Why was she suddenly asked that? She then remembered she asked her the exact same question and felt embarrassed.

"Oh, uh… well since I was a child I always thought that women were pretty, and then… I got a crush on someone."

"Who?"

Shiena knew she was probably all red right now.

"One of my… teachers," Shiena admitted.

Otoya remained quiet for a moment before she started to giggle, much to Shiena's embarrassment.

"It's… it's not funny!" Shiena protested.

"I know, I know, I'm not laughing at you. I just think it's kinda cute," Otoya said. "Did… anything happen between you and that teacher?"

"O-Of course not! She was an adult and I was a teenager- she would have gotten into trouble. And it's not like… I have the guts to ask anyone out."

"So I assume you never had any girlfriends before, am I right?"

"Yeah…"

"But soon it will be a new year, and I have a feeling that it will be a lucky year for you. Who knows, maybe you'll meet the woman of your dreams."

As she said that, Otoya winked, which made Shiena's heart skip a beat. For a moment they continued to eat wordlessly before Otoya broke the silence.

"Does your family know that you're gay?"

"Ah… no. I never told any of my relatives, I'm not close enough to any of them to tell them. And I'm scared to… what about you?"

"Well, my uncle and aunt knew and never had any problem with it, and my parents… well they died before I could even realize it."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, it's been such a long time now."

Another question popped into Shiena's mind, but she wasn't sure if it was okay to ask. And yet… she was far too curious and so she asked anyway.

"Your parents… how did they die?" Shiena dared to ask.

Otoya stopped eating and remained stoic for a moment before a soft yet sad smile appeared on her lips.

"They got murdered," Otoya replied.

Shiena froze when she heard that. She couldn't have predicted that.

"Oh my gosh… that's so awful… I'm sorry. Do you know… who did that?"

"The police searched for the culprit, in vain."

Shiena felt so bad for Otoya. Her parents being dead was already sad, but murdered? It felt even worse. Could it be why she was now obsessed with serial killers? As a way to cope with the murder of her parents? So that was the darkness within Otoya, different from her darkness, but that caused both of their obsessions with serial killers.

Otoya suddenly softly caressed Shiena's hand with a comforting smile.

"No need to be sad for me, I'm okay now. I'm over it. And I'm not alone, I have my aunt and uncle, my friends… and you."

Those words immediately washed away Shiena's sadness and made her so happy that she smiled.

"I'll always be there for you, Takechi."

Otoya's smile became wider.

"Same here, Shiena-san."

They finished their desserts and as Shiena was about to wait for the waitress to bring the bill, Otoya rose up.

"Takechi? We… we need to pay, right?"

"I told you I had a discount, I already paid. We can go now."

With some hesitation, Shiena followed Otoya. They both got back their coats and left the restaurant, standing in front of it for a moment.

"I had a wonderful time with you, Shiena-san. I'm glad I spent my Christmas Eve with you."

"Me too. Thank you for inviting me. And thanks for your gift."

"Thanks for your gift too, I'll treasure it forever~"

Otoya got closer to Shiena and leaned on her, to leave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Shiena felt her entire body burning.

"Merry Christmas, Shiena-san. See you later."

"M-Merry C-Christmas, Takechi…"

Otoya smiled one last time before she turned back and started to walk away. Shiena put a hand on her heart which was racing like crazy while slightly brushing her cheek where Otoya kissed her. Was it simply a gesture of friendship or was there something more between them? Shiena simply couldn't believe it.

She finally came back to her senses and started to head home, playing with her pendant, this small heart Otoya gave her. In a way, it felt like Otoya gave her her heart. Even if she wasn't into jewelry, she'll cherish this pendant forever.

She felt next year was going to be a good year after all.

* * *

Ring, ring, ring.

A ringing pulled out Shiena from her dreamless sleep. She opened her eyes, realizing that it was her phone. She quickly rose up and searched for it, finding that she had left it on the floor. She picked it up, wondering who it could be.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Shiena," a masculine voice said.

Shiena froze when she heard that voice. It had been a while since she last heard it, but she still recognized him. She didn't understand why he was suddenly calling after all these years.

"... Oto-san?"

It was Shiena's father. Always busy with his work, he had neglected his daughter and eventually they lost contact. So his sudden call after such a long time was a real surprise.

"Merry Christmas," he suddenly said.

It took a moment for Shiena to realize what was happening. She remembered that she spent the evening with Otoya yesterday, the 24th, so today… was indeed Christmas.

"T-Thanks… Merry Christmas to you too," Shiena replied.

"How are you doing? Any plans for the holiday?"

Shiena spotted her heart pendant on her nightstand and reached for it, softly stroking it, a smile on her lips.

"I spent Christmas Eve… with someone."

"Oh? Right, you're not a little girl anymore, you're in the right age for love. What kind of man is he?"

Shiena remained silent. Of course her father would assume she was with a man. She was tempted to tell him it was a woman, but her father called so rarely, she didn't think it was the right time to do her coming out.

"... 'he' is… kind, friendly, generous, always comforting me and supporting me."

"Ah, I see. I'm glad you found a good man, not like- Anyway, I just wanted to know how you were doing. I did some cleaning in my house and found a picture of us, so I thought… it would be nice to speak to you."

Shiena didn't know how to feel about that. Part of her was glad that her father still thought about her, but she also felt some grudge against him. This man neglected her all her childhood, he was absent for most of her life, she suffered because of his actions. But today was Christmas, she was still overflowing with happiness due to her dinner with Otoya, she didn't want to let herself be overtaken by rancour. Perhaps it was the right time to forgive, let go of the past, and finally allow herself to be happy and at peace.

"Thank you for calling, Oto-san. I hope you're doing well too."

"I am, work is demanding as usual, but I feel like my efforts will be rewarded soon. I can feel this promotion… Do you have any news from your mother?"

Shiena wished he hadn't mentioned her. Her parents divorced when she was really young and since then, they barely talked to each other. Shiena herself hadn't talked to her for years.

"No, I don't. I just know she got remarried a couple of years ago, but that's it."

"Ah, I see… hopefully she found someone who makes her happy. I've got to go, I'm glad we could talk, and I'm happy that you found someone too."

"I'm glad we could talk too, have a good holiday, and a happy new year."

"I wish you a happy new year too. Bye."

And her father hung up. Shiena let out a sigh, not expecting that call. But part of her was kind of happy he called her, to know that deep down, her father still thought about her.

But it reminded her that her mother didn't, which gave her a twinge in her heart.

Still holding the pendant, Otoya's gift comforted her a little. At least she knew someone genuinely cared about her, and thinking about her filled her own heart with pure happiness.

She decided to wear the pendant and leave her bedroom, ready to make herself coffee to start her day well. But before she could, someone suddenly knocked at the door. Curious about who it could be, she quickly went to the front door and opened it.

There was no one outside.

Was it a prank? As Shiena was about to close the door, she noticed something on the ground.

A Christmas present.

It was an average-sized box wrapped in Christmas paper. Shiena picked it up, it didn't weigh that much. Who could have left that there? Curious but also a little bit worried, Shiena closed the door and headed for the kitchen, where she put the gift on the table.

She tried to look for a card or a name, but there was nothing. This present was totally anonymous. She was feeling more and more worried. But she was also extremely curious so she decided to take a risk and open it.

She unwrapped the gift and opened it, to discover a box full of colourful tissues. There was a certain smell coming from it, it smelt like… raw meat?

Shiena gulped as she put her hand into the box, trying to determine its contents. Her hand met with something wet, viscous, sticky and rather cold. This texture made Shiena a little bit nauseous as she finally removed her hand, bringing with her the suspicious content, before freezing in shock when she discovered what it was.

In her hand, Shiena was holding a bloody human heart.

* * *

**I had no idea what to give for the main dish and dessert for Shiena and Otoya so I went with what I ordered when I was on a date with my gf: Alfredo spaghetti and cheesecake.**

**Looks like Shiena received... an interesting gift for Christmas. What is the meaning behind it? Let me know what you think!**


	16. Safer together

**Thanks again for my girlfriend for proofreading this chapter and once again providing a title.**

**Warning: Gore.**

* * *

_Shiena was walking through a dark corridor weakly lit by flaming torches. Her heart racing and her hands shivering, she continued to walk, fearing what she might find at the end. She eventually reached a door and, with a moment of hesitation, opened it._

_She arrived in what appeared to be a dungeon. Facing the wall was a tall woman with long black hair. Shiena stopped for a moment, before cautiously walking towards her._

_The woman eventually turned back, revealing that she was wearing a mask, a smiling drama mask. Shiena froze immediately._

"_... Jackie?" she called softly yet afraid._

_Jack nodded as she stepped towards Shiena, who was paralyzed by fear. Jack now stood in front of her and cocked her head, as if she was observing her. Shiena, despite the terror, managed to move her arm, reaching her hand towards her mask, until she touched it with her fingertips, ready to remove it and finally see Jack's face._

_Shiena suddenly felt a terrible pain in her chest. Slowly, she lowered her head and discovered with horror that a blade had pierced her. With a slash, Jack ripped open her chest, before digging her hand in it. Shiena screamed in agony as Jack ripped out her heart, still beating in her bloody hand._

_Shiena coughed up blood and fell to her knees, her chest heavily bleeding. Jack tied her heart to a rope and put it around her neck as if it was a pendant, then grabbed Shiena's chin with her clean hand, raising her head. With her hand dirtied with blood, Jack traced a red smile on Shiena's face, similar to the one on her mask. Shiena tried to see through her mask to at least see her eyes, in vain._

_As Jack released her, Shiena collapsed to the floor, as everything became dark around her._

Shiena woke up with a jolt, heavily panting and sweating. Instinctively, she reached for her chest and let out a sigh of relief when she felt her heart beating, quite loudly and fast. At least it was still there, safe in her chest.

What an awful dream. Yet not surprising, judging by the recent events. Shiena ran a hand through her messy hair and rose up, taking a look at the clock. It was still pretty early in the morning, but she had no desire to go back to sleep, too afraid she might have another terrifying nightmare.

She couldn't help but think that Jack was close to her, so much so that she could almost remove her mask and uncover her identity, but that if she did that, she would most likely get killed.

She headed for the kitchen, needing her dose of caffeine to fully wake up. But as she arrived, her eyes were instinctively attracted to the fridge. With a shivering hand, she got closer to it, reached the handle and opened the freezer.

Inside, wrapped in a bag, was the bloody human heart she received yesterday.

Shiena sighed as she closed the door back up. She spent the entire previous day wondering what to do about that. Her first instinct was to call Chitaru and tell her what happened, but she realized it might get her into trouble.

There was no doubt that this sinister gift was from Jack. What was the meaning behind it? Shiena wasn't sure. A gloomy way to show her love, and perhaps also a way to tell her that she could be next. An act of love yet also a threat.

If she told Chitaru, then she would have to admit that she had some connection to Jack. This would only make Tokaku feel like she had been right to suspect her, and maybe make Chitaru feel like she couldn't trust her anymore. They will both realize that she hid clues from them, and they will probably tell Sumireko, which, as a result, might lose Shiena her job. And if she lost it, it would be harder for her to track down Jack- she wouldn't have the support of AKA and the police anymore.

So she made a decision. She chose to hide the heart and not tell her coworkers, and took it upon herself to use this to uncover Jack's identity. To know she received a human heart would probably not help them anyway in their investigation, so why tell them? There was no way it could possibly come back to bite her.

But doubt was in her mind, a fear. If Jack sent this heart to her apartment, then it meant she knew where she lived. Jack could come here at any moment to murder her. Shiena wasn't safe here anymore, in her own home. Yet, if Jack wanted to kill her, she could have done it so many times now, right? So what was the chance she would come to assassinate her?

She realized that it was too dangerous to take that chance. It would be for the best to leave for some time. Taking her decision, Shiena took a quick breakfast before she put on some clothes and went to retrieve her suitcase in her closet. She put a couple of clothes inside, bathroom stuff, a few spares of her glasses, her laptop… Shiena tended to be a hoarder and gathered a whole bunch of useless stuff in her apartment, but when it was time to pack, she only brought what was necessary.

She then spotted the pendant Otoya gave her as a present. She took it, gently stroking it. She had a wonderful day with her, so why did it get ruined at Christmas by Jack? Even if it wasn't a useful item, Shiena decided to bring it with her, so she can at least have some comfort linked to a happy memory.

Once she had finished packing her stuff, Shiena went to the front door, put on her boots and coat, pulled out her key, and left her apartment. With some regret, she locked the door and finally left the building.

* * *

Otoya couldn't help but smile. She was wondering how Shiena reacted to her special gift. She was more curious if she would get the obvious hint she just gave her. A silver heart, a human heart, the connection wasn't that hard to make. But it was Shiena we were talking about. The poor girl was blinded by love, and everyone knew that love made one stupider than usual. Not that Shiena was dumb now, but whenever Otoya was involved, it felt like she lost a few gray cells.

It only made Otoya want to laugh. It was hilarious to drop obvious clues right in front of Shiena's nose yet she couldn't grasp them. It was so fun to toy with her like that, just like a cat playing with a mouse. But one day, she'll have to eat her. That was how this game will end.

Otoya had a relatively good Christmas. After dropping her present in front of Shiena's door, she spent the day at her uncle and aunt's house with a couple few more relatives she barely even knew. But it was pleasant to wear her mask around them, to deceive and fool them. What was family meant for if not to be used? At least she received a couple of interesting gifts and even money.

On her way home after a walk, Otoya went through a backstreet, and as she was about to exit it, someone suddenly blocked her way.

"Takechi."

Otoya stopped walking, surprised yet not impressed by this sudden meeting.

"Hey, Hashiri… or should I say Kuzunoha?"

Nio was facing her, her face blank, yet her gaze so cold and threatening.

"Why did you do that?" Nio simply asked.

"Huh? You gotta be more specific, I did a lot of stuff-"

"You gave the heart of one of your victims to Kenmochi, didn't you? Why have you done such a stupid thing?"

"Ah, but it's not stupid at all. You see, Kenmochi-san is hiding clues about the investigation to AKA, so her receiving a human heart from the serial killer they are tracking would only make them suspicious of her. That will make them realize that Kenmochi-san is hiding stuff from them. And since she was targeted by the killer, it's highly possible they would remove her from the investigation. Isn't that you want? She's a nuisance, right? So better to get rid of her, but without killing her, just like the higher-ups want."

Nio looked at first unconvinced by what Otoya just said, before she was left pondering, then annoyed.

"If I remember correctly, I told you not to do something without our approval first."

"Hm, no, you said to not kill without your approval. This heart belongs to a woman you asked me to kill, so it isn't like I disobeyed your order. And you did ask me to get closer to Kenmochi-san to tamper with her investigation, which I just did."

Nio clenched her fist like she was fighting the urge to punch Otoya before a cheery smile appeared on her face.

"Ah, Takechi-san, tell me why I haven't killed you yet?" Nio asked cheerfully.

"Not sure, but I think that somehow, the higher-ups think I'm valuable. Sucks to be you, huh?" Otoya said with a cocky smile.

Nio continued to smile, but it seemed more forced, and even threatening.

"Don't abuse your luck, Takechi. Everyone is replaceable, especially a puny serial killer such as yourself."

Otoya replied nothing to that, simply smiling with such arrogance.

"Let's not get violent in this holy season, shall we? Did you have a nice Christmas, Nio-chan?"

"Don't call me that. And what I did on Christmas is none of your business," Nio replied, becoming serious again.

"Aww, don't be like that. Do you perhaps have a special someone?"

"If you don't shut up now, yesterday will be your last Christmas."

Despite those violent words, Nio remained perfectly calm, yet her voice was full of threat and her gaze was so sharp that she could stab someone with it. Otoya chuckled in face of danger and slightly raised her arms as a sign of surrender.

"No need to be so aggressive, Hashiri-san. Well, if it's all you have to tell me, then I'll go. If you'll excuse me, I have stuff to attend to at home."

Nio remained motionless for a moment before she got out of the way. Otoya nodded at her and she passed next to her as Nio suddenly grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"If you endanger Black Guild in any way, no matter what the higher-ups want, I'll personally make you meet the same fate as all your victims," Nio said with a cold and gloomy voice.

Otoya felt nothing towards this threat. She smirked as she shook off her arms, walking away. But she stopped again to say one last thing.

"Merry Christmas, Kuzunoha-san."

"It's not Christmas anymore you dipshit."

"And a happy new year."

Otoya could almost feel Nio's murderous aura as she walked away, heading for her house. When she turned back, Nio had disappeared. Otoya continued to walk, satisfied with how the conversation went. Nio got fooled like everyone else. None of what she said was true. She had no interest in getting Shiena out of the investigation, quite the contrary. She knew Shiena would probably keep the heart a secret, so she wouldn't get into trouble with AKA. And even if she did, Otoya didn't really care. She knew Shiena would keep tracking her no matter what.

As she arrived at her house, Otoya removed her boots and coat and headed for her room. On her desk was the gift Shiena got her. Seriously, what a pathetic and cheap present. Otoya was tempted to throw it away, she had no use for such an item. She was far from being a hoarder- she only kept what was useful to her. Useless tools had no place in her life. An eternal blooming flower? How ridiculous. It was nothing more than fake flowers, there was no beauty in it.

But she could see Shiena's effort. She could see that she was trying to understand her. Yet despite this gift she had failed to recognize her as Jack? How funny. Otoya softly stroked the ornament, feeling somewhat moved by Shiena's attention towards her.

"_An eternal blooming flower… I wonder if I could meet one one day._"

Of course not. All flowers were fated to fade and rot, and it was up to her to preserve their beauty. The concept of a flower who would bloom eternally was absurd. Beauty was ephemeral after all. She then remembered something Shiena once told her.

What about inner beauty?

Otoya brushed that away. Inner beauty was something made up so ugly people could feel better about themselves. It had no value. All that mattered was outer beauty. After all, the world was made for pretty people, nobody cared if you were beautiful in the inside. And neither did she.

She laid on her bed. Today was December 26th. The year was almost over, and Otoya had specific plans for the new year.

Make Shiena fully hers.

* * *

Shiena opened her eyes. She didn't recognize the ceiling and for a moment, she became tense. Even the bed seemed unknown to her, harder and less comfy than her usual bed. She straightened up and looked around, worried, before she realized where she was and sighed in relief.

She was in the motel room she rented for a couple of days, trying to protect herself from Jack. She didn't know how long she would stay, and she didn't really think about it. All she wanted was to get away from her apartment so she wouldn't have an unexpected visit that may end in a bloodbath. But she had to admit, staying in a cheap motel wasn't the best. It wasn't that she didn't have the money to stay in a hotel, but she preferred to avoid spending too much, not knowing how long she would stay here.

She got up from the bed and put on some clothes, just regular jeans with her usual hoodie. She grabbed her laptop and put it in her bag, with her wallet. She then left the motel room and pulled out her key to lock the door, before leaving the motel.

She headed for the café down the street. A rather cheap café, but not seedy. Shiena wasn't particularly demanding, so it was well enough for her. She ordered a coffee and went to sit in a corner, far away from the other customers. She turned on her computer and started to do her usual routine of the morning.

She went on Facebook to look at her dashboard to see if there were any interesting articles to read. There weren't many murders that happened for once, it was kind of disappointing. Not that Shiena actually wanted people to get killed, but she did like to read about killers. She scrolled down to skimmed through all the articles, sipping coffee, before she saw everything new. One thing remained on her mind.

The Demolisher.

AKA was closed during the holidays, but Shiena didn't feel like taking a break from the investigation. She was on a lead for the Demolisher and she didn't want to let go or wait any longer to catch them. She had a suspect in mind now, and all she needed to do is find a motive, some kind of logic behind those awful murders.

She almost had all the pieces to solve this puzzle, except one. What was the trigger to commit those murders? What did the victim do to trigger the killer?

Shiena was rereading her notes, reports and all. She noticed a certain detail, almost a pattern. Some of the victims had apparently offered a gift to that girl they met at their workplace. Could the gift be the trigger? Was there something special about receiving a present, almost sacred?

A gift from a kind person. Someone important to them, maybe. This gift, it was like it was some kind of charm, a relic. Something… to fill the void in their heart.

It suddenly gave an idea for Shiena how to catch the killer. A risky idea, but it was worth it. She was convinced she could deal with the culprit.

She then noticed that she had a notification. She looked and saw that someone had messaged her. Seeing who it was, Shiena sighed. She initially wanted to ignore them, but after the favour they did for her, she felt like it would be rude.

"Hey, Ichinose," Shiena typed.

"How are you? How did your date with Takechi-san go?"

Shiena blushed a little. A date… was it really that? She sure hoped it was.

"It went well. She even got me a nice gift, and she seemed to like mine. I had a wonderful dinner with her."

"I'm so glad! You were so pretty."

"What about you? How was your evening with Azuma?"

"Oh, well, Tokaku-san isn't really the talkative type, but we still had a nice time together. We ate dinner and watched a movie, a romantic one. Not sure if Tokaku-san really enjoyed it, but at some point, she held my hand. It must mean something, right?"

"Yeah, definitely. Azuma has a thing for you, for sure."

Shiena remembered how Tokaku threatened her to not cause harm to Haru, so obviously she must have at least some feelings for her.

"Ah, I gotta go. Seeya soon at work!" Haru wrote.

"Yeah, seeya."

And Haru went offline. Shiena was grateful to her for helping her for her dinner with Otoya, but she wasn't sure how she felt about the idea of her being with Tokaku, given the fact that the latter seemed to hate her. But in the end, she just wished that Haru would be happy with someone she loved.

As she was about to continue her investigation, her phone suddenly started to vibrate. Shiena picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Shiena-san."

Shiena felt her heart missing a beat.

"Oh, T-Takechi…"

"How are you? I passed by your apartment but you weren't there. Are you busy?"

"No, I'm just in a café right now. And… I stayed in a motel last night."

"Ah? Why? Are you in another town?"

"No, I'm still here. Let's just say that… I didn't feel safe at home anymore."

"Eh? Did something bad happen?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. She didn't want to get Otoya involved in this mess, but she also felt the need to have someone with whom she could tell what was going on, someone she could rely on.

"Shiena-san, please answer me! I'm worried…"

"I… Jackie knows where I live, so I didn't feel safe in my apartment anymore."

"Huh? How do you know that? What happened? Please Shiena-san, answer me!"

"I don't… feel comfortable talking about that over the phone. Can we meet in person?"

"Sure, just tell me which motel you're at and your room and I'll join you."

For a moment, Shiena hesitated to tell her. She didn't want to tell anyone where she was at for her own safety, but she trusted Otoya. She didn't see any reason to not tell her.

"I'll text you the address, meet me there in about an hour," Shiena said.

"Cool, thanks. I'll be there. I'm worried, I really hope you're okay."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks for your concern."

"Okay, seeya later then. Stay safe please."

"I will, thanks. Seeya soon."

And they both hung up the phone. Shiena sighed, before she turned off her laptop and put it back in her bag, grabbed her coffee, and headed back to the motel.

* * *

Not so long after she arrived at her motel room, Shiena heard someone knocked at the door. For a moment, she was worried that it might be Jack who had found her, before realizing that it was probably not the case.

Still a little bit nervous, she rose up and opened the door, and sighed with relief when she saw who it was.

"Take-"

Otoya burst into the room, not even taking the time to remove her boots. She grabbed Shiena by the shoulders and looked at her with an expression of concern on her face, as well as worry.

"Shiena-san! What's going on? Why do you think Jackie knows where you live?"

Otoya looked so panicked. Somehow it made Shiena happy to see Otoya be so concerned about her, it made her feel like she mattered. Like she was valuable and appreciated. _Loved_.

"Takechi, I'm fine. I'm safe here, you don't have to worry about me."

Otoya finally let go of Shiena's shoulders, still looking tense.

"Tell me what happened," Otoya ordered.

"I think you should sit down first."

"I think I prefer to stand."

"Please. You're kind of stressing me out. Let's just sit down and talk calmly."

Otoya took a deep breath as if she was trying to calm down before she sighed, a weak smile on her lips.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just worried, you know."

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks for your concern, I appreciate it."

They both sat down on the edge of the bed. Otoya seemed to have calmed down a little, while Shiena was nervous. She played with her fingers for a moment, before finally talking.

"On Christmas, I received… a gift."

"Huh? What kind of gift?" Otoya asked.

"Someone… left a box in front of my door. And inside, there was… a human heart."

Otoya remained stoic for a moment before an expression of true horror appeared on her face.

"You mean… a real human heart!?" Otoya exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah… I think so…"

"Did you call the police?"

"N-No… I… just hid the heart in my freezer."

"Why? It's serious, you should warn the authoriti-"

"I can't," Shiena interrupted her. "I want to continue tracking Jackie, but if the police know she targeted me, I might not be able to do so anymore."

"You're risking your life for that!?"

"I… yes. No matter the risk, I want to pursue my passion, and I want to catch Jackie. This is important to me."

Otoya softly stroked Shiena's hand before she held it, a gentle smile on her lips.

"... I understand. What you're doing is quite admirable, Shiena-san. I'll support you no matter what and help you."

"Thanks, Takechi-san…"

"That's why I can't let you stay here. I don't want you to stay in a cheap motel, alone, vulnerable, and unprotected… I want you to come live with me."

Shiena remained silent for a moment as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"You want me… to move out with you?"

"Well, just temporarily, until Jackie is finally arrested. This way you won't be alone, and I could protect you-"

Shiena let go of Otoya's hand and suddenly rose up.

"I can't! I don't want to put you in danger, what if Jackie finds us and hurts you, or worse, kills you…"

Otoya rose up too, softly grabbing Shiena shoulders again, a comforting smile on her face.

"It's fine, I'm not scared of Jackie. I just want to help you and protect you, so please, let me do this. Please, Shiena-san. You can't be alone in a time like this."

Otoya's turquoise gaze was so insistent, yet full of sympathy and concern. Shiena didn't have the strength to say no anymore, and living with Otoya seemed like a dream come true.

"Okay, I'll go with you. Let me just pack up my stuff."

"Take your time, there's no rush."

Shiena went to her suitcase. Luckily, she didn't have enough time to properly start unpacking, so most of her stuff was still in it. She quickly put everything back in, closed the suitcase, and turned to Otoya.

"I'm ready now, we can go."

"Perfect!" Otoya exclaimed. "Here, let me grab that."

Before Shiena could say anything, Otoya grabbed her suitcase, before she suddenly held Shiena's hand.

"I came in my car, so we'll be at my house soon," Otoya added. "Now, let's go, shall we?"

Shiena nodded, a smile on her lips. Everything was going for the better, after all, she won't have to pay for a motel room and will have a safe place from which to stay as long as she needed, with the girl she loved. How lucky could she be?

They both left the motel, Shiena carefreely following Otoya, feeling that perhaps, the heart incident wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

**Shiena, leaving her apartment to avoid getting killed by Jackie**

**Also Shiena: Give her motel address to Otoya**

**Otoya is right, love does make you stupid.**

**How do you think things will end for Shiena? Let me know your thoughts!**


	17. Another side of her

**Hello there. So here I am with a new chapter, I hope you gonna like it. Thanks again to my gf for proofreading this chapter.**

* * *

Shiena was so comfortable. Everything felt so warm, soft, and cozy. She had no desire to get out of there, she just wanted to stay snuggled in the blanket and fall back asleep.

But she couldn't. She felt like she wasn't alone. She felt observed, there was some presence with her, staring at her, she could feel their eyes all over her.

Shiena turned her head and nearly jolted. There was someone literally looking at her. What were they doing in her bed? She then realized that it wasn't her bed, nor was it her bedroom.

"Takechi?" Shiena called.

Otoya was laying next to her, a soft smile on her lips.

"Yeah, Shiena-san?"

It took a moment for Shiena to remember what she was doing here. She agreed to stay at Otoya's house for her protection, and despite asking to sleep on the couch, her friend insisted for her to sleep in her bed instead. Shiena wanted to refuse, but she couldn't say no to Otoya. And deep down, she was happy to share a bed with her.

"How long… have you been awake?" Shiena asked.

"Just a couple of minutes. You look so cute when you're sleeping."

Shiena felt her cheeks becoming warmer at that comment. For a moment she almost thought that Otoya had been watching her sleep for a while. How ridiculous she had been.

"I hope you slept well," Otoya added.

"Yeah, your bed is really comfy."

"I'm glad. Hm, you must be hungry, you didn't eat much last time. Let's go get breakfast, shall we?"

Shiena nodded and got out of bed, with some regret regarding how comfortable it was. Otoya led her to the kitchen and started looking inside the fridge.

"Sit down, I'll make you breakfast."

"You don't have to-"

"I insist. I like cooking, especially for the people I care about."

Shiena couldn't deny that hearing those words filled her heart with pure happiness. She decided to sit down and obeyed Otoya.

"Would scrambled eggs with bacon and toast satisfy you?" Otoya asked.

"Oh, huh, yeah sure."

Otoya put a pan on the stove and cracked some eggs in it before using another pan for bacon. She also put water in the coffee maker. The food was starting to grill and a pleasant aroma followed, which made Shiena realize how hungry she was.

Otoya was softly humming as she cooked while Shiena pulled out her phone to go check Facebook. Reading about homicide in the holiday season was kind of depressing. As she scrolled down, Shiena noticed that Haru updated her status to "in a relationship". With Azuma Tokaku.

"_Oh, good for her,_" Shiena thought.

Out of curiosity, Shiena clicked on Tokaku's name to check her profile. To no surprise, she discovered an empty profile without even an icon. She even wondered why Tokaku bothered to have a Facebook, she posted nothing and barely had any friends.

Not that Shiena had many more friends, to begin with. But hey, at least she posted regularly and had a profile picture.

"I'm done~" Otoya said.

She put two plates of eggs, bacon and toast on the table as well as two cups of coffee and sat in front of Shiena.

"I hope it's going to be to your liking."

"Let me check," Shiena replied as she grabbed her fork and took a bite of her eggs. "Yeah, that's pretty good."

"I'm glad," Otoya said as she took a bite too.

They both ate in silence for a moment, enjoying their breakfast. Them eating together like that, they almost looked like a couple. This thought made Shiena's heart race. If only.

"So, any plans for New Year's Eve?" Otoya asked between two bites.

"Hm… not really."

"What do you usually do for the new year?"

"Nothing special, I usually just watch a movie. What about you?"

"Hm, most of the time I spend it with my friends."

Shiena drank a sip of coffee and a few more bites of her eggs.

"How about we do something together this year?" Otoya suddenly proposed.

Shiena nearly choked on her food.

"You okay?" Otoya asked with concern in her voice.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine… you really want to spend New Year's Eve with me? Even though you already spent Christmas Eve with me…?"

"Yeah? I don't see why I can't spend both with you."

"No… I'm just… worried."

"Worried? About what?"

Shiena hesitated for a few seconds before answering, feeling quite shy and nervous.

"Well… I'm worried… I may keep you from spending time with your friends. I wouldn't want to keep you from them," Shiena admitted.

Shiena looked down, a little bit embarrassed. She then felt a hand gently stroking hers and raised her head, to see Otoya smiled kindly.

"You don't have to be worried, Shiena-san. You're not keeping me away from anyone. I choose to spend that time with you because you're the person I want to be with, you're the most important to me."

Shiena's heart was now racing like crazy. She could barely believe those words. Never in her life had someone showed her as much kindness as Otoya, not even her own parents. Was this how it felt… to finally be loved? She almost felt like crying.

"Thank you, Takechi…"

"No need to thank me. There's a festival this year, how about we go there together? Unless you prefer to stay at home and watch a movie."

"I… will think about it."

Shiena wasn't the type to really enjoy outdoor activities, but if she was with Otoya, maybe she would like it. Her friend removed her hand from hers and finished eating, which Shiena did too.

"That was really good, thanks."

"It's nothing," Otoya replied as she stood up, grabbing the dirty plates. "Now, time to do the dishes.."

"Wait, I'll do it!" Shiena exclaimed as she rose up.

"You don't have to."

"I insist. You made breakfast, the least I can do is do the dishes."

"Then we'll do it together. It's not up to debate."

Despite those serious words, Otoya was smiling playfully. Shiena sighed as she agreed. Otoya dropped the plates in the sink and let the water run as she grabbed cleaning tools. Shiena stood next to her, grabbing a cloth.

"I'll wipe, you wash," Shiena said.

"Sounds fine with me."

And as they started to do the dishes together, Otoya hummed peacefully and Shiena felt a warm feeling in her chest. It was such a heartwarming moment.

They just looked like a happy couple.

* * *

It had been two days since Shiena started staying at Otoya's house. Their cohabitation was doing fine, them living together almost felt natural. There was no conflict, they were enjoying their time together and doing chores together, it felt like they were perfectly complementary.

Just like a married couple.

Shiena immediately shook her head with embarrassment.

"_What am I thinking?! Takechi and I are just friends, and… it's not like she would be interested in me anyway…_"

Shiena sighed, feeling a little bit bummed out as she continued to head for the grocery shop, an empty bag in her hand. She had to buy a couple of things for today's dinner. But as she was about to step in, someone came out and they nearly bumped into each other.

"S-Sorry!" Shiena immediately apologized as she bowed down.

"Kenmochi?"

Shiena froze with surprise when she recognized that voice and raised her head.

"Namatame?"

Chitaru was standing in front of her, holding a full grocery bag.

"What are you doing here?" Chitaru asked. "It's not your neighbourhood, right?"

It took a moment for Shiena to answer as if she had been caught doing something bad.

"I… I'm staying at a friend's house who lives here," Shiena replied.

"Oh? Is there a reason why?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. She was tempted to tell her the truth, that Jack knew where she lived, therefore, she didn't feel safe in her own apartment anymore. She wanted Chitaru to comfort her, protect her, hold her tightly in her strong arms, against her soft chest. She wanted to be reassured by her warmth, she wanted to snuggle her, perhaps even under the blanket, and they will-

Shiena pulled herself together. Chitaru was a married woman, and she had… Otoya, who was already protecting her. And she knew she couldn't tell the truth, fearing that she might get fired for keeping clues about Jack to herself. But still, she needed an excuse, a reason why she was staying at her house. She might have found something she hoped was credible.

"There's a problem with the water at my apartment, I can't even take showers anymore. So my friend proposed to let me stay at her house until the problem is solved," Shiena pretended.

"Ah, I see. Well, I hope it will be fixed soon. It's nice of your friend to shelter you in the meantime."

Shiena felt really bad to be lying to Chitaru like that, but she knew it was for the best. She just wanted to avoid unnecessary drama.

"So, any plans for New Year's Eve?" Chitaru asked.

"Oh, huh, well, I'm going to spend the night with my friend. What about you? Spending it with… your wife?"

"Hitsugi and I planned to do something later in the night, right before midnight, but during the evening I planned something with Azuma."

"Ah, Azuma…"

"We're great friends, we planned to do something on the 31st for weeks. I thought she might cancel since she's now dating Ichinose, but she told me a promise is a promise."

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you're going to have a great time with her, as well as with… Kirigaya."

Chitaru suddenly put a hand on Shiena's shoulder with a look of concern on her face.

"Kenmochi? Is everything alright? You seem tense."

Shiena's heart started to race and her cheeks were burning.

"I… I'm fine," Shiena mumbled.

"Are you sure? You know that if anything is happening, you can tell me."

As she said that, Chitaru leaned on Shiena, intensely gazing at her with her beautiful ruby eyes. Overtaken by a sudden impulse, Shiena got closer to her, their lips almost touching.

"Chitaru-san."

Shiena immediately recoiled and turned back, before she froze when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey," Chitaru said, carefree.

Hitsugi was standing a couple of meters away from them, smiling, but something felt venomous in her smile. There was even something threatening into her topaz eyes. She was holding a full grocery bag.

"I finished buying what we needed at the other grocery store, I see that you are done too," Hitsugi said.

"Yeah, sorry for the wait, I met a coworker. You know Kenmochi, right?"

"Of course I do. We went to the mall together with Ichinose-san. We had a great time, right, Kenmochi-san?" Hitsugi asked with an obviously fake friendly smile.

"Y-Yeah, we did…"

Hitsugi stepped towards then and suddenly grabbed Chitaru's hand as she drew her away.

"Well, if you would excuse us, we have things to do. It was nice meeting you again, Kenmochi-san. Happy holidays."

"... Happy holidays to you too."

"See you at work!" Chitaru added.

As Chitaru and Hitsugi were walking away hand in hand, Shiena felt a twinge in her heart. She almost felt like crying. But she knew it was all her fault. This scene was just a reminder that Chitaru was already taken and that shouldn't give herself false hope. Anyway, she had Otoya.

Not that there was much more hope there too.

Shiena sighed as she entered the grocery store. She already lost too much time. But then, her phone started to vibrate. With another sigh, she pulled it out, to see that she received a text message.

From Haru.

And she sighed for a third time in not even one minute as she read it.

"_Hey, Shiena-san, I was wondering if you were busy the 31st? If not, maybe we could do something together. I know there's a festival I would like to go to._"

Shiena was tempted to answer later but decided to do it now.

"_Sorry, I'm doing something with Takechi._"

"_Oh, okay… I'll see if I have another friend available. I wish you a good time with her._"

"_Thanks, and congratulations on your relationship with Azuma._"

"_Thanks! I wish you the same with Takechi-san~_"

Shiena blushed at this. She didn't even answer this comment and put away her phone, wondering if perhaps there was really a chance between her and Otoya.

Her mind full of doubt and yet hope, Shiena finally started to do the groceries.

* * *

As she entered Otoya's house, Shiena dropped the grocery bag and removed her coat and boots. She took back the bag and as she headed for the kitchen, she heard a voice coming from the living room. Otoya's voice. And she sounded… somewhat annoyed and irritated. With some apprehension, Shiena headed for the living room and hid behind the wall, observing what was going on.

Otoya was on the phone. Even if she looked rather calm, her body language seemed quite upset and tensed, her fist clenched.

"... Fine, I'll do it."

And she hung up the phone. Otoya's expression got fearsome for a moment. She didn't look angry, but quite certainly bothered.

"...T-Takechi?" Shiena dared to call, a little bit worried.

Otoya turned her head and as soon as she saw Shiena, her expression softened and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh, Shiena-san, I didn't hear you enter."

Shiena was surprised by how quickly Otoya's behaviour changed.

"Who… were you talking to?" Shiena asked.

Otoya's expression didn't change, she was still smiling, yet there was something kind of chilling in her expression.

"No one important," Otoya simply replied.

"Judging by your expression, it must be someone important," Shiena said.

Shiena was starting to get worried. She somehow had a bad feeling about this. Otoya sighed as she slowly walked towards her, before she softly grabbed her shoulders, gently stroking them.

"It's just a friend who needs my help tomorrow, nothing to be worried about," Otoya said softly.

"A friend…? But… tomorrow… is the 31st…"

"Yeah, I know."

"We planned to do something together."

With an apologetic look, Otoya gently stroked Shiena's cheek.

"I'm really sorry. But I can't say no to that friend."

Shiena was sad to hear that. She was really looking forward to spending the day with Otoya. But she couldn't be mad at her for that.

"I understand. If your friend needs your help, you can't ignore them. It just shows how much of a good friend you are."

Otoya smiled at that as she put her other hand on Shiena's other cheek.

"Thank you for understanding. Again, I'm really sorry. I'll try to make it quick, I should be back before midnight so we could still do something together, and spend January first together too."

"Y-Yeah, that sounds great!"

"And I had something important to tell you right before the new year."

"Huh? What?"

Otoya didn't reply and instead, kissed Shiena on her forehead, which made her blush like crazy.

"You'll see tomorrow night~"

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. What did she mean by that? Shiena was dying from curiosity, she wanted to know now, and the mystery was making her imagine unlikely scenarios.

Otoya finally released Shiena as she grabbed the grocery bag.

"Thanks for that! Now let's go make dinner, together. I'll teach you how to cook. You can't just live off of instant noodles forever, right?" Otoya said with a wink.

Shiena remained silent as Otoya gently grabbed her arm, drawing her to the kitchen. Shiena had so many conflicted feelings right now, but one thing was sure.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow night to know what Otoya wanted to tell her.

* * *

"Shiena-san! I'm so glad you could come!" Haru exclaimed.

Her coworker was enthusiastically waving at her, Mahiru standing next to her, shyly looking at the ground. Since Otoya would be busy for most of the day, Shiena agreed to go to the festival with Haru. Haru texted her earlier this morning to tell her that Mahiru agreed to come with and, upon learning this, Shiena decided to tag along.

"Sorry for the wait," Shiena said.

"No, it's fine, you're right on time. Let's go now!" Haru exclaimed cheerfully.

Before Shiena and Mahiru could say anything, Haru locked arms with both of them, leading them to the festival. It was taking place near a temple and there were multiple various stands. It wasn't the evening yet so the sun was still in the sky, bright and shining.

"Let's go see the food! It smells so good here, I can't wait to taste them," Haru said.

They approached a stand selling takoyaki. They all ordered some and continued their way through the festival, admiring the various festive decorations.

"So, why did you agree to come with us? Not that it bothers me, quite the contrary," Haru asked.

"Well, Takechi… got busy today. She had to help out a friend. But she still wants to do something with me later. She said… she had something to tell me right before the new year…"

"Ohhh… maybe she'll ask you to marry her."

Shiena nearly choked on her food.

"W-What!? Of course not, what are you saying!? We're not… even dating…"

"I know, I know, I'm just joking. Maybe she has some secret to tell you? Like she's secretly some kind of spy, or even an assassin."

"I highly doubt that."

"You can never know… what kind of person someone truly is," Mahiru said.

Shiena laughed nervously. She just wanted to change the subject already.

"Any plans for the New Year?" Haru suddenly asked.

"Well, I'll probably be with Takechi."

"I… have plans… with Sumireko-san…"

"Oh, that's great! You and Hanabusa-san seem really close, don't you?" Haru asked happily.

"Ah… yes… we are…"

Shiena noticed that Mahiru seemed quite uncomfortable with this topic, which Haru didn't seem to have noticed. By sympathy towards her friend, Shiena decided to do something for her.

"What about you, Ichinose? Any plans with Azuma for the New Year?"

"Oh, yeah, we'll spend the day together. Today is an important day for me after all."

"Well, like for the rest of us."

"I mean, even more for me. January 1st is my birthday~"

"You… are born on January 1st!?"

"You're… a new year baby," Mahiru added.

"Yep! I'm a Capricorn! What about you, when are your birthdays?"

"February 15th," Shiena replied.

"Oh, right after Valentine's day!"

"Yeah… right on Single Awareness Day. Quite fitting for me."

"Aww, don't say that. I'm sure you won't be single for long, not with Takechi-san around."

Shiena wanted to reply something to that, but all she could do was blush, which made Haru giggle.

"What about you, Mahiru-san?"

"Um… my birthday is… May 30th."

"I'll be sure to remember both your birthdays!"

As they continued to walk and eat their takoyaki, they passed by a game stand. Mahiru's eyes were glued to the various prizes and Shiena stopped walking.

"Wanna try?" Shiena proposed with a smile.

"Ah? Oh… uh… yeah," Mahiru said nervously.

"Oh, that looks fun!" Haru added cheerfully.

The three girls got closer to the stand. It was a shooting stand with various prizes, mostly plushies or keychains. Shyly, Mahiru stepped up, gave some money to the clerk, who then handed her the toy gun.

"You have three tries to make the bottle fall," he explained. "If you succeed on your first try you get the first prize, on your second try the second prize and on your last try the third prize."

Mahiru aimed at the bottle and took a deep breath, before she pulled the trigger. She missed.

"Two more tries miss, don't give up."

Mahiru shot again. And missed again. Her hands started to shake as she shot her last try, missing again.

"It's over miss, better luck next time."

Mahiru looked down, disappointed and sad. Her eyes seemed to be attracted by a particular keychain. Feeling bad for her, Shiena pulled out a couple of yen and dropped them on the counter.

"I'll try," Shiena declared.

"Alright," the clerk said as he handed her the gun.

Shiena immediately aimed at the bottle, trying to focus, before she pulled the trigger.

And missed too.

"Don't give up, you still have two more tries," the clerk said.

Shiena took a deep breath and tried again. This time, the bullet brushed the bottle, but without making it fall.

"So close! You can do it miss!"

Shiena was starting to feel nervous. She really wanted to win, but she really felt like she couldn't. What if she pictured the bottle as something she actually wanted to hit. Keeping that in mind, Shiena aimed again.

She pictured the bottle as one of her past bullies.

She shot and hit the bottle right in the middle, which then fell on the ground.

"Congratulations!" the clerk exclaimed.

Shiena remained frozen. Despite her victory, she had a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. This whole thing… gave her a terrible sense of deja vu.

"You can pick among the third prizes," he added, pointing the keychains.

Shiena came back to her senses and looked at the keychains. She remembered the one Mahiru was desperately looking at and pointed at it.

"I want this one."

"Alright," the clerk replied as he grabbed the keychain, a duck-shaped phone strap, and handed it to Shiena.

"Have a great festival ladies!"

Shiena turned towards Mahiru and handed her the keychain.

"Here, it's for you," Shiena said with a soft smile.

"F-For… me? But… it's you who won…"

"Yeah, but all I wanted was to get you something since you really seemed to want this keychain."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you," Haru said.

Mahiru seemed totally in disbelief before she smiled happily.

"T-Thanks, Kenmochi-san," she replied as she took the keychain.

Mahiru was smiling fondly as she softly stroke her new gift, the pupils of her eyes suddenly dilating.

"Look! The sun is going down! It's so beautiful! Let's go see the sunset and then the fireworks!" Haru said as she grabbed both her friends, running towards the hill.

Both Shiena and Mahiru didn't protest, the silver-haired girl too busy admiring her new keychain, which filled Shiena with a feeling of satisfaction.

But also worry.

* * *

"I had a great time with you both! I wish you a happy new year!" Haru said, all cheery.

"Thanks, you too!" Shiena replied.

"... Yeah… you too."

Haru walked away, heading for her house. Shiena and Mahiru stayed together for a moment, silent, until the latter started to walk.

"W-Wait, Banba… let's walk together."

Mahiru stopped.

"But… we don't live in the same direction…"

"I insist. I don't want to let you walk all alone at night."

Mahiru looked like she was hesitating but didn't protest, instead she smiled weakly.

"Okay."

Shiena smiled too and the two friends started to walk together. They walked wordlessly, but sometimes, silence was nice. Mahiru was playing with her duck keychain, seeming delighted by her new gift.

"Do you have a thing for ducks?" Shiena suddenly asked.

"Oh, uh… y-yeah. I like… rubber ducks."

"Aww, that's so cute. Do you perhaps collect phone straps?"

"In a way… y-yes… but not only keychains. All sorts of objects… gifts from people important to me. Relics."

Shiena didn't add anything to that. They continued to walk quietly until they reached a backstreet.

"We… we're almost… at my house. I can do the rest alone, thanks… for coming with me."

In normal circumstances, Shiena would have insisted to continue with her, but today wasn't one of them.

"Okay, see you at work then. Have a good night!" Shiena said as she walked away.

"Y-Yeah… have a great night too."

Shiena continued to walk, heading for her home, while she perfectly knew it wouldn't be her final destination.

It must have been at least 10 minutes since she left Mahiru. Shiena felt her heart racing like crazy, she was nervous, worried, afraid, but she knew she had to do this. It was for the greater good.

The street lamp kept turning off and on, making it hard for Shiena to see. She walked carefully, remaining on her guard, cautious.

As the street lamp was on, she noticed a shadow on the ground and immediately got out of the way.

She could feel a gust of wind brushing against her cheek as she saw some huge object passing near her head, almost hitting her. Shiena immediately ran and then turned back, to see someone standing behind her a couple of meters again, holding what appeared to be a huge hammer. But it was too dark to see their face, but Shiena knew who they were.

She had been waiting for them.

The individual laughed maniacally, the lights flickering on and allowing Shiena to see their truly deranged and insane look on their face, their eyes screaming madness.

"Well well, aren't ya goin' to run? Ya don't see quite scared," they said.

Shiena clenched her fist, fighting against her own fear, before she let out a weak yet satisfied smile.

"Oh, but I was expecting to meet you tonight, Shinya."

* * *

**The plot thickens. How did Shiena guess that Shinya would try to kill her? Let me know your theory!**

**This is the penultimate chapter, next one will be the final for this arc. Please let me know how you think this is going to end and seeya next week for the final chapter!**


	18. Happy New Year

Shiena was putting all of her strength into suppressing her shivers. Her heart raced like crazy and she was fighting the urge to simply run away. But she couldn't. After all she did to arrange this meeting, she couldn't just throw it away. She had to be brave and face them if she wanted to stop them- and help them.

Shinya had lost their crazy expression. They were looking at Shiena with confusion and curiosity in their amethyst eyes.

''How do ya know my name?''

Shinya had lowered their weapon, which reassured Shiena a bit. Maybe they would be able to talk civilly.

''Banba… mentioned you. She called you her sibling.''

At those words, Shinya smiled softly.

''Indeed I am.''

''But… I investigated Banba's past, and… she's an only child.''

Shinya's smile suddenly turned into a frown.

''So… who are you really, 'Shinya'?''

Banba's hand tightened around her weapon, tensing up.

''I'm Banba Shinya, Mahiru's protector. I exist solely for her sake, and I'll do everything I can to help her.''

So Shiena's doubts had been confirmed. She always wondered if the Demolisher was only one person or two people, but now she had her answer. Both. For once, one plus one equaled one.

''You want to kill me because I gave that keychain to Banba, right?''

Shinya giggled, a dark laugh that sent chills down Shiena's spine.

''So ya did that on purpose huh. Smart… yet dumb.''

''You kill people… who give you a gift. They are like… treasures to you-''

''Relics,'' Shinya corrected.

''Right, relics… but why do you need those?''

''I don't need them. Mahiru needs them. Relics from people dear to her… is the best way to fill her empty heart.''

Again, Shiena saw right. She took a risk and stepped closer to Shinya, but still trying to keep a safe distance between them.

''People hurt you- so much so that you feel empty on the inside,'' Shiena began. ''I can understand that. The world was unfair to you, and it was the same for me, too. It hurt, right? But it's not a reason to hurt others. I view Banba as my friend, and I want to help her- both of you. Please, let me help you.''

Shinya recoiled a little, looking uncertain.

''How… will ya help me- us?''

''You have… issues. You are a danger to yourself and others. Not that I blame you, the world made you that way. But it's not too late to change. With the right help you can get through this and get better-''

''Ya still haven't answered my question. How will ya help us?'' Shinya insisted.

They seemed more aggressive and Shiena got worried. If she didn't choose her words carefully she might trigger them.

''Mostly therapy. Maybe medication, or putting you in a place where you will be safe-''

''So drugging me and locking me up!''

''It's for your own good…''

Shinya clenched their fists.

''You're just like all of them. Ya want to steal away my freedom, you're looking down on me-''

'I'm not! But you need help, you're sick!''

''I'M NOT CRAZY!''

Shinya's eyes were full of murderous intent. Shiena began to recoil, feeling like she may have made a mistake.

''Shinya… I know you're in pain, you're suffering, so-''

''You're wrong. You'll be the one suffering soon,'' Shinya interrupted her with a sinister grin.

Shinya quickly raised their sledgehammer and Shiena had barely the time to avoid a hit that would have been most certainly fatal. She nearly fell to the ground but managed to stay on her feet, and didn't waste any time in running away.

Her plan was a failure- she couldn't convince Banba. But it wasn't all for nothing. At least now she had confirmed the Demolisher's identity, she could tell others. If she survived.

Looked like trying to reason with a dangerous, psychotic, and delusional serial killer wasn't a good idea after all.

Shiena continued to run and dared to look behind her shoulder. She thought that perhaps Shinya's sledgehammer would slow them down, but it didn't seem to be the case. Shinya was running after her, a maniacal smile on their lips, looking like a predator chasing down its prey.

Shiena turned when she reached a backstreet, hoping she could escape there. But unfortunately, she was stopped by a dead-end. She turned back, ready to run again, but Shinya was now blocking her way, cackling madly.

''Shinya… please don't do this. I know deep down you don't want to hurt anyone-''

''Oh, but I do want to hurt ya. And kill ya.''

Shinya looked ready to jump on her and smash her with their sledgehammer. But before they could, Shiena pulled out a gun and aimed at them.

''If you don't want to listen to me, I won't hesitate to protect myself and shoot!'' Shiena warned, trying to look threatening.

Shinya stopped before they started to giggle, taunting her.

''Ya ain't gonna shoot. Ya don't have that in ya. Ya don't have the strength to pull the trigger.''

Those words somehow felt like a stab in Shiena's heart. She knew far too well that it was the truth. Shinya continued to laugh as they slowly walked towards Shiena, letting their weapon brushed against the cement. Shiena's hand was shaking, her finger on the trigger, but she couldn't pull it.

Shinya was now in front of her, grinning madly as they raised their sledgehammer, ready to crush Shiena's head.

''Seeya, Kenmochi. Thanks for the keychain.''

Shiena remained frozen, incapable to do anything in front of her imminent death. She eventually closed her eyes, thinking that perhaps it would hurt less if she couldn't see the blow.

But nothing happened. Instead she heard a grunt and the hammer clattering to the floor. Shiena dared to open her eyes and discovered Shinya on the ground, wriggling and crying out in pain, covering her face. Glancing up, she saw Haru standing there, a bottle of pepper spray in her hands. Quickly, she grabbed Shiena's arm and dashed off with her

''Ichinose?! What are you doing here?''

''There's no time to talk, we gotta get somewhere safe,'' Haru replied.

Shiena obeyed and let her coworker lead her, grateful for her help yet wondering how she got there. She looked one last time behind them and was relieved to see that Shinya wasn't chasing them.

* * *

Haru led her to her house. A simple bungalow that looked quite cozy. Haru closed the door and looked through the window, probably checking to see if Banba followed them, before she closed the curtain with a sigh.

''Ichinose, thank you-''

''What were you thinking?'' Haru asked as she turned back.

Shiena remained frozen. Never had she seen such a serious and severe expression on Haru's face. There was even reprimand in her eyes.

''I… just wanted to stop her. And help her.''

''You could have gotten killed. That was dumb. Why didn't you at least tell someone?!''

''I didn't want… to endanger anyone.''

''Yet you endangered yourself!''

Shiena couldn't believe that Haru of all people was scolding her. Even if she knew that her coworker was simply worried for her, it also kind of annoyed Shiena, who decided to snap back.

''And you, what were you doing there?''

It was Haru's turn to freeze, looking like she was hesitating, and avoiding Shiena's eyes.

''I… had a doubt that you would try to confront Mahiru-san tonight. My doubts were confirmed when you gave her that keychain.''

''Wait… did you know Banba was the Demolisher?''

Haru didn't say anything, simply nodding.

''How?!'' Shiena asked.

''Well… you remember when we talked about our plans for Christmas? You went to the bathroom shortly after and I may… have looked through your computer and stumbled upon the article you were reading.''

''You WHAT?!''

''I know I shouldn't have, but… I briefly saw it when we were talking and… that picture… that looked just like Mahiru-san. I was too curious, and I needed to know. I'm sorry."

Shiena felt angry and deceived and was tempted to lash out against Haru. But, remembering that she just saved her life, she calmed down and regained her composure.

''Then?'' Shiena asked.

''I decided to investigate too. I come to the conclusion that Mahiru-san was the culprit, but… I couldn't believe it. She is so sweet and shy, how could she commit… those awful murders? I understood too that the gifts her victims gave her was the trigger, so when I saw you give her that keychain… I knew what you were going to do. So I followed you both and when I saw her attacking you. I arrived just in time to stop her…''

Shiena was surprised. She always thought that Haru was kind of slow, but turned out she could be quite clever.

''But still, there is one thing I'm not sure I get… why did the article refer to Mahiru-san as a boy? She's a girl, right?''

Okay, maybe not that clever.

''I… don't know either,'' Shiena pretended, not wanting to break her promise with Mahiru.

''Hmmm."

''A-Anyway, we know now that Banba is the Demolisher, so it was worth it.''

''What are we gonna do next? We should tell someone in AKA-''

''No!''

Haru jolted when Shiena suddenly raised her voice. Shiena took a deep breath to calm down.

''If they know the truth, they will throw Banba in jail. I know she's a murderer, but… she's insane. She needs medical help.''

''I know, but… we can't let her kill more people.''

''I'll try to talk with her, maybe I can reason her when… she isn't in a psychotic rage.''

''You tried today and you failed…''

''That's because I tried to talk to Shinya, not Banba.''

''... Who's Shinya?''

''Banba's other personality.''

Haru stopped talking for a moment and seemed genuinely confused.

''... What?''

''Banba has a split-personality. I don't know if it's the result of psychosis or dissociative identity disorder, but she's not alone in her head. The one who kills is Shinya, so I assume… that it should be easier to talk to Banba instead.''

Haru looked like she was having a hard time processing all of this. She then sighed and softly took Shiena's hand.

"Okay, but we're both going to talk to Mahiru-san, together."

Shiena hesitated a little. Somehow she wanted to do this alone, but at the same time, perhaps it was safer to be accompanied by Haru. And that would prevent Haru from denouncing Mahiru.

"Fine, let's do this together-"

Knock knock knock.

They both jolted. Who could that be so late in the evening? A terrible doubt crossed Shiena's mind. What if it was Shinya? With some hesitation, Haru walked towards the door.

"Ichinose, don't-"

Cautiously, Haru opened the door, fear in her eyes that was immediately replaced by joy.

"Oh, Tokaku-san!"

Tokaku entered the house, Haru kissed her and for the first time, Shiena saw her smile. It felt so weird. Although her smile disappeared quickly when she noticed Shiena.

"What is she doing here?" Tokaku asked coldly.

"We went to the festival together and after that… Shiena-san didn't feel well so I proposed to let her stay here for a little while," Haru explained.

Tokaku continued to gaze at Shiena. She remembered that Haru mentioned that she was supposed to spend the evening with her girlfriend. She then remembered that she too, had something planned with someone.

"I feel better now… and I gotta go. Thanks again Ichinose and seeya at work!" Shiena said as she quickly left the house, feeling unwelcome anymore.

She headed for where she lived, feeling nervous, looking around in case Shinya might have reappeared.

* * *

Shiena stepped inside the house and removed her boots and coat. Most of the place was dark, but she noticed light in the kitchen. Shiena headed there and discovered Otoya sitting on the rocking chair, reading a book. When she saw Shiena she immediately put her book away and smiled.

"Oh hey, Shiena-san. You're finally back."

"Yeah, sorry. I got… busy with Ichinose and Banba."

That was an understatement but Otoya didn't need to know the truth.

"We still got some time before midnight," Otoya began as she rose up. "Come. There's something I want to tell you."

Otoya gently took Shiena's hand and led her to her room. Shiena could feel her heart accelerate at this physical contact, but also in anticipation to what her friend wanted to tell her. They entered the room which was, as usual, a real mess. But Shiena got used to it. Otoya gently stroked her shoulder, smiling softly.

"Stay here, I'll come back with something," Otoya said as she left the room.

Shiena waited patiently, but she was certainly a little bit nervous. To pass time, she looked around, examining all the stuff that was scattered in the room. She spotted a piece of paper under her bed with what seemed to be a newspaper article glued on it. Was it part of her binder about Jack? Did it fall maybe? Curious, Shiena retrieved it started to read the article.

"_Young girl killed her father after he murdered her mother._"

Shiena continued to read, curious to have more details.

"_The father would have killed his wife in her sleep with a pair of scissors. He would have tried to do the same to his daughter, before she killed him by self-defence._"

Shiena wondered why Otoya kept this news article until she saw the picture of the family. She recognized all three of them.

It was a child Otoya with her mother and father.

"Shiena-san, I'm back."

Shiena started to shiver, her eyes glued to the newspaper, before she finally turned back. Otoya put a bottle of champagne on the dresser as well as two glasses. She then noticed what Shiena was holding and her gaze became stoic.

"Shiena, what's that?"

Shiena didn't know what to say. She was scared yet she wasn't sure why. Otoya didn't seem angry or anything, but she was kind of… frightening right now.

"Takechi… you said your parents were murdered."

"They were."

"And you said… that the police hadn't caught the culprit yet."

Otoya remained silent for a moment and, much to Shiena's surprise, she burst into tears.

"T-Takechi!?"

"I'm sorry… I just… didn't want you to… know… that I was a killer," Otoya said as she continued to sob.

Shiena never saw Otoya cry before, she never saw her look so… vulnerable. It made Shiena want to comfort her. She regretted her initial reaction upon discovering this article, she understood that she was wrong.

"Takechi… you aren't a killer. You did nothing wrong. Your father… attacked you. You just protected yourself."

Otoya took a deep breath and wiped her tears away, seeming to have calmed down a little.

"My father… was a bad man. He treated me and my mother horribly, but I never thought he could… kill her. I loved my mother so much… and he took her away from me…"

Tears continued to roll from Otoya's eyes as Shiena surrendered to her impulsions and hugged her. Otoya continued to sob on her shoulder as she hugged Shiena back, which made her happy. They hugged for a moment until Otoya finally regained her composure.

"Thank you, Shiena-san. For understanding. Living with this weight made me wonder… if I could have become an actual killer. Perhaps this is why… I'm so obsessed with serial killers. Because I can see myself in them."

Shiena could relate to that. She felt like it was time to tell Otoya the truth, about her own obsession with serial killers. With some hesitation, Shiena pulled out her gun, which made Otoya instinctively recoiled.

"Shiena-san… is that… a real gun?"

"Yeah."

"But… that's illegal! How did you even get that and why?"

"I… used to be part of a group. An online group. And some of them… were mixed with illegal stuff. When I told one of them about my… problems, they… sent me this."

"What problems?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. She put back the gun in her pocket. It was the moment of truth.

"In school… I was heavily bullied. My life was a living hell, I wanted to… die. And I wanted them to die."

"No one helped you? Not even your parents?"

At those words, Shiena let out a bitter laugh.

"They never cared about me. They never wanted me in the first place. I was… nothing more than an accident. They got married, but they never loved each other. They got divorced when I was still very young, and whichever house I was staying at, none of them took care of me. They were just so busy with their respective work…"

Shiena stopped talking when she felt her voice cracking. She didn't want to start crying. What she went through was nothing compared to Otoya, so she felt like it would be unfair to cry.

"And your bullies… did you… kill them?" Otoya asked.

"That's the problem. I couldn't."

Shiena's nightmare came back to her mind. This event that could have very well happened but never did. Even if she didn't do that, it was still haunting her nights.

"I… brought the gun to school. I intended to… shoot my bullies. And then myself. But… I didn't have the strength to pull the trigger. I couldn't even pull out the gun. Since that day, I wondered… if things were different, could I have become a killer? Maybe it's why… I'm so obsessed with serial killers. They are the mirror of the worst part in me, yet, I'll never be like them. And somehow, I don't know if… I'm happy or not about that. I'm not even sure what I regret. Nearly killing people… or not doing it…"

Shiena's vision became blurry. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, to discover that her hand was now wet. She felt something rolling on her cheeks and realized with horror what it was.

Those were tears.

What she wanted to avoid happening happened. Shiena started to cry. She tried to stop but it was in vain, the tears didn't want to stop. Otoya stepped towards her and suddenly embraced her. Shiena didn't want her to comfort her, she felt unworthy of it, yet part of her felt appeased.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Shiena mumbled weakly.

"Shhh, it's okay Shiena-san. You can cry. Get it out of your system. You did nothing wrong. You can't blame yourself for your feelings. No matter what, I'll be here for you."

Otoya softly rubbed her back, then her shoulder, before she gently wiped away Shiena's tears. Her smile was so kind as she suddenly leaned against Shiena, her face only a few millimeters away.

And then she kissed her.

Their lips met in a warm, soft and passionate kiss. Otoya tenderly cupped Shiena's face as she continued to kiss her. Shiena felt like she was dreaming. This simply couldn't be true. Otoya was really kissing her? This wasn't a dream, it was real. This pure moment of happiness washed away all her worries, her sadness, her regrets. She wrapped her arms around Otoya's waist and gently stroked her back, returning the kiss. Shiena wished this moment could last forever, but unfortunately, she had to catch her breath. She broke the kiss and looked at Otoya, who was smiling so nicely.

"I love you, Shiena-chan."

Shiena felt like crying again, but this time of happiness. She had longed to hear those words for what seemed like forever- it felt too good to be true. Could life actually be good for her?

"I love you too, Otoya."

Otoya's smile grew wider as she kissed Shiena again. This time, her tongue pushed inside of her mouth, gently playing with hers. Her hands softly brushed Shiena's waist before they suddenly slipped under her shirt. Otoya's fingers on her bare skin made Shiena shiver, both from excitement and fear.

She wanted this, yet she wasn't ready for that. She became more and more afraid as Otoya's hands were dangerously close to her chest. She gently nudged Otoya away, then coughed.

"Shiena-chan, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… my throat hurt a little. Let me just… go grab a glass of water and I'll be back."

Shiena and Otoya looked at the hour and noticed that it was past midnight.

"Happy New Year, Shiena-chan."

"Happy New Year, Otoya. Be right back."

Shiena left the room, her heart racing like crazy and her body burning. She still couldn't believe it was real, and felt as if she was going to wake up soon. She pinched herself just to be sure and it hurt. It was truly real.

Shiena arrived at the kitchen and smiled to herself. The new year started in a good way for her. She didn't remember the last time she was this happy in her entire life. Finally life was treating her fairly and she was rewarded for years of suffering.

As she was about to grab a glass, Shiena spotted something. It was the book Otoya was reading earlier. It was on a chair, under the table. Curious about what kind of stuff Otoya read, Shiena went to take a look.

She grabbed the book and it was with shock that she read the title.

"_Confession, by Minato Kanae."_

Minato Kanae… that author Yamada Yuu, one of Jack's victims, really liked. Shiena remembered the missing book in her apartment, and realized she was holding it.

All those details she had noticed and brushed away, details that separately meant nothing, but once you connected the dots, the answer seemed too easy.

How could she not notice earlier? It was so obvious. How could she had been fooled like that? Shiena felt so dumb, how could she think that the universe would allow her to be happy? She was simply the most unlucky of them all…

"Shiena-chan? Is everything alright?"

Shiena jolted. Otoya's voice was coming from her bedroom. Fearing that she might join her, Shiena immediately replied.

"Y-Yeah… I just… need to go to the bathroom."

She needed to get out of here as quickly as possible, she wasn't safe. Without making too much noise, Shiena headed for the front door and put her boots, but didn't bother putting on her coat, and left the house. As soon as she was outside, she started to run, ignoring the cold, wanting to put the most distance between her and Otoya as possible.

She felt a sudden pain in her neck, like she had just been stung by a mosquito. But it was winter, it was way too cold for any bugs outside.

Shiena's vision became blurry and her legs numb, so much so that she tripped over her own foot and fell to the ground. She tried to get up but her body was so limp, she just fell back on the cement, incapable of moving. Her vision started to slowly fade away as she heard footsteps coming closer, and everything became black.

* * *

It was with a heavy headache that Shiena woke up. She grunted when she was blinded by the light and rubbed her eyes. She felt like she was lying on something wet and sticky… and when she looked at her hand she discovered… blood. Did she have her period? She quickly rose up from the bed and looked around, before she nearly screamed.

Lying right next to her was a dead woman.

Her body had been awfully mutilated and she had been ripped open, her guts hanging from her belly. Shiena immediately recoiled, terrified.

Why did she wake up next to a corpse? What was she doing before she fell asleep? She couldn't remember. She spotted a bloody knife on the floor and picked it up. Was it the murder weapon? This crime, it couldn't be anyone other than

Shiena suddenly remembered what she was doing before. Otoya, she was-

"Don't move and raise your hands!"

Shiena jolted and turned back, to discover one of her coworkers in the doorframe, aiming at her with a gun.

"... Azuma… It's not what you think, I didn't-"

"I don't want to hear anything from you, you psycho! I knew something was wrong with you. Now raise your hands or I'll shoot you!"

Shiena obeyed and raised her hands, still holding the knife. When she thought the situation couldn't get any worse, someone else suddenly stepped inside the room, looking absolutely shocked.

"Kenmochi… what have you done?"

Shiena felt like she was going to cry. She wanted anyone except her to see her like this.

"Namatame…" was all Shiena could say.

Chitaru remained in the doorframe, like she was hesitating to act, before she pulled out her gun.

"Kenmochi Shiena, you're under arrest for murder. You have the right to remain silent," Chitaru finally said.

Shiena felt her whole world crumbling. She dropped the knife and Chitaru approached her, before handcuffing her and leading her out of the room under the hostile gaze of Tokaku.

What a terrible way to start the New Year.

* * *

**And end of the first arc. I'm sorry Shiena-chan :c**

**So, did you like it? Please let me know if you have any theories regarding what happened to Shiena and what you think will happen next. I may take a short hiatus before contuining this fic to work on other projects but I'll come back soon, I promise.**


	19. The Puppet Show

**Here there! I'm back after a small hiatus, this is the first chapter of the second arc. I hope you gonna like it.**

* * *

_She was there, standing in the center of the room and surrounded by dozens of corpses. As usual, she was wearing that drama mask with an unsettling smile. Shiena was taking slow steps towards her, climbing over the mountain of dead bodies. When she finally reached her, Shiena stretched her arm out and grabbed her mask. For the first time, she managed to remove it and finally see Jack's face._

_Otoya faced her. She was looking at her with such a soft, warm and sweet expression. She smiled gently as she tenderly caressed Shiena's cheek. She then leaned out and Shiena knew she had to get out, but her body couldn't move. Deep down, she wanted this._

_And they kissed. A soft yet passionate kiss. Shiena could feel Otoya's hands gently stroking her back, bringing her closer to her. Her tongue slipped inside of her mouth, playing with hers. Such a warm and sweet kiss that Shiena wished could last forever._

_A sudden salty and metallic taste invaded Shiena's mouth. She instinctively recoiled and wiped her mouth, to discover that blood was dripping out of it. With shock she raised her head to look at Otoya, who had blood dripping from her lips too- twisted in a truly malevolent grin. Terrified, Shiena pushed her away, ready to run away._

_But something stopped her. It felt like her foot was stuck. Shiena looked down to discover with horror that one of the corpses had grabbed her ankle. Shiena panicked and tried to break free, but the corpse managed to make her fall. Shiena ended up lying on the floor, surrounded by dead bodies. Like zombies, they all started to slowly creep towards her. Shiena tried to desperately crawl away from them, but it was too late. The corpses reached her and pinned her to the floor. It was over. It was time for Shiena to join Jack's victims._

"_O-Otoya… please… help me!" Shiena pleaded._

_Otoya stood there for a moment, still grinning, before she burst into an insane laughter. The zombies dug their nails and teeth in Shiena's flesh, who screamed in agony as they slowly ripped her apart…_

Shiena nearly screamed when she woke up. Her mouth was wide open but no sound came from it. Instead, she gasped and choked on her saliva and started to cough. What an awful nightmare. But, it made Shiena hopeful. Perhaps all that happened recently was nothing more than just a bad dream…

The cold and hard surface she was lying on reminded her of the equally cold and hard reality. She wasn't lying on her comfortable bed safe in her apartment, no. She was lying on a metallic bed in a jail cell. For days now, Shiena had been kept in police custody. She rose up, stretching her sore body, sat on the bed and let out a powerful sigh.

What did she do to end up in such an awful situation? All she wanted to do was help people, catch a dangerous serial killer and bring them to justice. But she ended up accused of the crimes of that very serial killer and there she was now, imprisoned.

Shiena knew it was her fault. She hated herself to have been fooled like this, to have been blinded by love like a mere school girl. She wasn't sure if she should cry at her misery or laugh at her own stupidity.

She heard footsteps approaching her cell. Shiena stood up, waiting to see who it was. A policeman eventually arrived and with his key, unlocked the door.

"You have a visitor, Kenmochi," he said stoically.

A visitor? Who could that be? Shiena was curious, but also wary. The cop handcuffed her and brought her outside the cell, leading her through a corridor. They stopped when they reached a room and he let her go inside, before closing the door behind her. Shiena looked around in the room and saw a woman. She was smiling at her politely, sitting at the table. She seemed to be in her forties, with long auburn hair and purple eyes, dressed like a businesswoman.

"Ah, Kenmochi-san. You may sit," the woman said with a professional vibe.

Who was this woman and what was she doing here? Shiena didn't dare to ask those questions and did as she was told and sat down in front of her.

"You must be wondering who I am and what I want from you," the woman said, basically reading Shiena's mind.

"Uh… yeah."

"I'm here to help you, Kenmochi-san. I know you are innocent and I want to avoid you going to jail for crimes you haven't committed."

So she claimed to be an ally. Shiena wasn't sure if she could really trust her, especially since she couldn't see why someone would want to help her in the first place.

"So are you like… my lawyer?" Shiena asked.

"No, but I'm the head of a powerful group, and I could offer you one of the best lawyers money can buy."

"I… thanks… but I don't think I have the money for that…."

"You don't have to worry about that. We'll take care of all the costs."

That sounded awfully suspicious. Who would offer a lawyer's services freely? Especially someone who claimed to be the head of a powerful group. Something was fishy with this, Shiena knew it. It seemed too good to be true, and she had personally experienced that. It was even the reason why she was here in the first place.

"What is this group you are talking about?" Shiena asked.

"I regret it, but I can't tell you."

"Then can you at least tell me your name?"

"No."

Shiena had a bad feeling about that. The woman continued to smile, but Shiena could feel something… darker in it. This must be some kind of trap, but Shiena couldn't tell why.

"I don't think I can accept your offer, thanks," Shiena said coldly.

The woman's smile didn't change in the slightest, but somehow it sent chills down Shiena's spine. She was fearing any reaction from her upon her refusal.

"Well then, I wish you luck for the upcoming trial. With all the proof against you, I highly doubt the court-appointed attorney can do anything for you. Enjoy prison, Kenmochi-san. Death penalty is usually what awaits killers in Japan."

The woman rose up. Upon hearing those words, Shiena started to panic. She didn't want to go to jail, and even less get executed for something she hadn't done. As the woman headed for the door, Shiena suddenly rose up too.

"Wait!" Shiena shouted. "I… I just want to know… why would you want to help me… without anything in return?"

The woman stopped walking and turned back, her smile still there as if it was printed on her face.

"Let's just say that you dying isn't in our best interests. We believe in AKA's mission and it would be bad if one of their members ended up being a killer herself."

It did seem to make sense, but Shiena remained doubtful. But in her current situation, it wasn't like she had many choices. She had to get whatever help she could have if she wanted to have a chance to survive.

"... Fine. I'll accept your offer."

The woman's smile grew wider.

"You made the right decision, Kenmochi-san. Trust me, your life will be in good hands."

Shiena wasn't sure if that was the truth, but she chose to remain optimistic. As the woman started to leave, she turned back one last time, still smiling, yet seeming to have some threat in her eyes.

"Do you know who Jack the Ripper of the 21st century is, Kenmochi-san?"

Shiena froze. Why did she feel like her life depended on what she was going to reply to this question? She did know who Jack was. But she also knew Jack was part of some evil organization, and her knowing the identity of one of their members could put her life at risk and get her killed. It was unsafe to tell anyone the truth. After all, nobody could be trusted.

"If… if I knew, I wouldn't be here in the first place. I would have denounced them already," Shiena replied nervously.

The woman seemed satisfied with that answer and finally opened the door.

"Thank you for the trust you put in us, Kenmochi-san. I wish you luck in the upcoming trial."

And she left the room. The policeman, who was waiting outside, retrieved Shiena to lead her back to her cell.

Shiena hoped she made the right decision. For now, all she could do was hope for the best and not fall into despair.

* * *

Shiena wanted to be over with this already. The courtroom was so full and she was the center of attention. After all, this trial was all about her. This whole situation was so stressful for her. She could feel that most of the room was extremely hostile towards her. Well, she was being put on trial and accused of horrific murders, so it wasn't surprising if people felt some animosity towards her. Shiena just hoped that her lawyer would be able to prove her innocence and expose the truth so people could stop seeing her as a murderer.

Her lawyer was a charismatic young man who seemed like the type of guy she would have hated in high school. But since he was defending her, Shiena wouldn't complain. The opposition attorney was a middle-aged woman who seemed strict and dour, like those severe teachers that every student feared.

"My client is innocent," Shiena's lawyer began. "She was victim of a big misunderstanding. Until now she worked with the police to catch Jack the Ripper of the 21st century, it's inconceivable that she could be this serial killer."

"A big misunderstanding?" the other attorney said dryly with a bitter laugh. "She was found on a crime scene covered in blood and holding a bloody knife! They found a human heart belonging to one of the victims in her freezer! She had a gun on her! What more do you need? She's without a doubt the killer!"

"My client already explained every of those details in a coherent way-"

"Then I would love to hear it! Judge, may I call the accused to the stand?"

"You may," the judge authorized.

Shiena felt her heart racing like crazy. She nervously stood up, trying to ignore all the gazes directed at her as she walked towards the stand. She sat down, her shoulders curled up, trying to make herself small as if she could simply not be seen anymore. The opposed attorney stepped towards her, glancing at her coldly.

"Kenmochi, is that true you were found on the latest crime scene holding a bloody knife?"

"Y-Yes, but-"

"And is it true that there was a human heart in your freezer?"

"...Yes, but-"

"And yet, you claim do be innocent? Do you think we are stupid? How could you possibly justify this?"

She was merciless in her questions. There was no doubt that she was certain Shiena was the culprit. But Shiena knew she was innocent, and it was up to her to prove it by admitting the truth, even if it might get her into trouble.

"The night of the murder, I was at the festival with my friends. I was… going back home and I got knocked out. Then I woke up next to… a corpse. I picked up the knife and this is when… the police showed up."

"Uh-uh… likely story. And what about the human heart in your freezer? I'm really curious to know how it can be a 'misunderstanding'."

"I… someone sent it to me. I found a box in front of my door and it contained… a human heart."

"And you kept it in your freezer instead of calling the police because…?"

"Uh… I was… scared. I was working on the investigation, I was worried that… I would get removed from the case if the others knew the killer was aware of where I lived. I desperately needed to catch them, and I wasn't going to give up just because-"

"So you're telling me you would have recklessly put yourself in danger and hide valuable clues simply for your own personal satisfaction?"

"N-No! I just wanted-"

"Even if you weren't the killer, you would be arrested for purposely hiding evidence. It would only prove how selfish and irresponsible you are-"

"Objection!" Shiena's lawyer shouted. "She's harassing and insulting my client!"

"Objection accepted. I think you made your point," the judge said.

The opposed lawyer stepped back as she sighed, while Shiena anxiously left the stand and returned to her seat.

"I would like to call my witness to testify," Shiena's lawyer said.

Shiena turned back to see who was walking forward. She was surprised to see Haru stepping towards the stand and sitting there, but also relieved. If anyone could prove her innocence, it was Haru.

"Please state your name and your relationship to my client."

"My name is Ichinose Haru and I'm Shiena-san's coworker, as well as her friend."

"If I understood correctly, you were with my client the night of the murder, is that right?"

"Yes. We were at the festival together."

"And you were with her all evening?"

"Pretty much. We passed my house after we left the festival and when she left it was maybe around 11pm."

"So you can testify that my client didn't kill anyone when you were together?"

"Absolutely. I really don't see how Shiena-san could have killed anyone-"

"Objection!" the other attorney said. "It does not prove in any way Kenmochi's innocence."

"Objection accepted," the judge said.

"Oh? How it doesn't prove my client's innocence?"

"Kenmochi was found past midnight at the victim's house, she could have committed the murder after leaving Ichinose's house."

"Shiena-san isn't a killer! She would have never done something so horrific!" Haru protested.

"You're only biased because she's your friend, you're nothing more than an accomplice!"

"That's enough!" the judge thundered. "You both made your point. Ichinose-san, you may return to your seat."

Haru rose up and when she passed next to Shiena, she gave her a look full of sympathy. For once, Shiena was truly grateful to her for standing up for her and defending her. Despite everything, she knew she could count on Haru. It was the first time she genuinely saw her as a friend.

"I would like to call my witness to testify," the opposed attorney called.

Shiena looked up and saw that Tokaku had taken Haru's place at the stand. It didn't look good for her.

"So, Azuma, you are the one who found the accused on the scene of crime, is that right?"

"Yes. Kenmochi was standing near the corpse, covered in blood and holding a bloody knife."

"So there is no doubt for you that she is the killer?"

"Affirmative. I always knew something was wrong with her. Ever since we investigated the ripper she always seemed… fascinated by them. She knew way too much about how they think. It felt like she could relate to them- like she had sympathy for them. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the ripper herself. She admires them because she is them, those are her crimes, and she loves to talk about it because she's a narcissistic killer, like most serial killers."

Shiena listened with shock to Tokaku twisting her own passion against her to make her look bad. The attorney seemed satisfied by her declaration and Tokaku went back to her seat. Her own lawyer called another witness to the stand and Shiena was surprised to see Chitaru. She was worried about what her coworker would say. She didn't think she could bear to see Chitaru publicly condemning her.

"So, Namatame-san, you also discovered my client on the crime scene, is that correct?"

"That's true."

"Would you say there is enough evidence to conclude that she is indeed the culprit?"

"I… I'm not quite sure. I have known Kenmochi for a while, and I really don't think she could be a killer. I mean, some evidence pointed at her being the killer, but deep down I wish that it's a mistake. I don't want to think Kenmochi is a murderer. This is why I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt. I don't have much to say about this, so I'll leave my faith in justice."

"Very well. Thank you for your time, Namatame-san."

Chitaru left the stand. Shiena let out a sigh. Even if her coworker didn't really defend her, at least she didn't outright think she was the culprit. It was better than nothing.

A few more of her colleagues came to testify, some in her favour, and some not. But when she suddenly saw Hitsugi walking towards the stand, she had a bad feeling.

"State your name and your relationship to the accused," the opposed attorney asked.

"My name is Kirigaya Hitsugi, I'm the wife of Namatame Chitaru and I'm friends with Ichinose Haru. I met Kenmochi-san once, I went to the mall with her and Ichinose-san."

"How would you describe Kenmochi?"

"Hmm… she seems… normal. Too normal. I don't know how to explain it, she just kind of feels off. Like her personality was only a facade- like she was wearing a mask. Despite how normal she looked, I felt like I could see… something dark in her eyes. I don't want to throw baseless accusation, but I think Kenmochi-san isn't the person she pretends to be."

What she just said left everyone mumbling to each other with concern. Shiena couldn't believe what Hitsugi just said. Why did she do that? Did she secretly hate her or something? She made her look like a total psychopath.

"Thank you Kirigaya, you may return to your seat," the attorney said as Hitsugi left the stand. "As you can see, Kenmochi successfully managed to trick all those people into thinking she was normal. She blended perfectly into society without raising much suspicion about her dark self, she's the very definition of a clinical sociopath. She killed all those innocent women for her personal pleasure and out of jealousy-"

"Objection! You have no proof that my client killed all those women! In fact, for most of the previous murder, my client had an alibi. Even if she had committed the last few murders, it's impossible for her to be the culprit for all of them. There is now way she can be Jack the Ripper of the 21st century."

"But she has no alibi for the last few murders and there is a ton of evidence that she is the culprit. Even if she isn't Jack the Ripper, she could be a copycat. Fascinated by the serial killer, she decided to imitate their gruesome murders."

"Do you have any proof of that?"

"And you, do you have any proof that she isn't? Let me remind you that she was found on the crime scene covered in blood and holding a bloody knife, and one of the victims' hearts was found in her freezer. She at least killed those two women."

There didn't seem to have much more to say. Shiena really didn't see how her lawyer could possibly prove her innocence at this point. Even if she was proven to not be Jack, she could easily get accused of being a copycat killer.

"I never said she didn't kill those two women, all I'm saying is that my client is not criminally responsible for those murders," her lawyer suddenly said.

Shiena remained confused. What the hell was he talking about? Everyone else seemed as surprised and lost as her.

"Excuse me? What's your point?" the opposed attorney asked.

"Exactly what I said. My client suffered for a lot of untreated mental issues, so it wouldn't be unlikely that she committed those two murders without realizing it or remembering it."

Shiena was dumbfounded. Did her own lawyer just admit she could be the killer? Wasn't he supposed to prove her innocence? What the hell was going on? The opposed attorney even let out a bitter giggle.

"Really? The insanity defense? Are you really that desperate?"

"Oh, but I'm not desperate. I always had the feeling it might be the case, I just wanted at first to make it clear my client wasn't Jack the Ripper of the 21st century. I would like to call my client to the stand please."

Shiena shyly rose up, feeling even more anxious as she sat down next to the judge. Her lawyer stepped towards her and stood in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Shiena whispered to him with incomprehension.

"Don't worry, I'm doing this to help you. Trust me," her lawyer mumbled before he spoke out loud. "So, Kenmochi-san, talk to me about your childhood. How was your relationship with your parents?"

Shiena didn't know what to do. Should she really trust him? She didn't have many options left.

"... My parents… never loved each other. They got married only because my mother ended up pregnant with me. They never wanted me. They never cared about me."

"So you were neglected as a child, and you never received any parental love."

"Yeah…"

"How was your life at school? Any friends?"

"N-No, not really… I was always… a loner. I… was too shy. And then… I got heavily bullied. People were insulting me, breaking my stuff, punching me..."

"So you lack self-esteem, you were abused all your childhood, you never received any form of love. All you ever experienced was pain."

"Y-Yeah, pretty much-"

"Objection!" the opposed attorney exclaimed. "What is the point of this sob and self-pity story?"

"I'm trying to show my client's mental state. It's important for my defense."

"Objection refused, you may continue," the judge said.

"Thank you. So, Kenmochi-san, why did you accept to work for the police?"

"I… I wanted to help. I wanted to catch killers, save people, be… useful. Have a meaning in my life- a purpose."

"I see. So you were desperate for love and acceptance in your life because you never experienced it before. You needed your peers' approval and respect because no one else in your life did. You became obsessed with finding who Jack the Ripper was. Your entire existence became about them. You tried to emphasize so much with them and understand them… that you started to behave like them. You didn't realize it, you lost contact with reality due to an untreated mental illness, and you killed those two women without realizing it."

Shiena didn't know what to reply to this. She knew everything he was saying was false, and he was supposed to defend her, right? So why was he trying to portray her as an insane killer…

Then she understood. It was all part of a set-up. This woman who offered her help… she tricked her. She got deceived. From the very beginning, everything had been a trap.

Shiena felt anger rise in her. She was tired of people deceiving her. This whole trial was nothing more than a big farce. They were using her own pain and insecurities against her to paint her as crazy, she won't let them get away with this. She could feel blood rushing through her head and her body becoming tense.

"Kenmochi-san? Are you still with us? Do you remember killing those women?" her lawyer asked.

Shiena looked down for a moment before she finally gazed at her lawyer with fire in her eyes.

"I didn't kill those two women," Shiena said firmly.

"Please, Kenmochi-san, I know it's hard for you to accept it. You may have forgotten, but you did-"

"I'M NOT CRAZY!"

Shiena violently slammed her hand on the table and rose up.

"Who do you work for!? This woman in the suit, from what group is she? I know. You're both from that evil organisation Jackie is from, your secret assassin guild. You all want to silence me because I discovered the truth, huh? I won't let you!"

Her lawyer recoiled a little bit while the vibe in the courtroom became tense.

"... K-Kenmochi-san, what are you talking about? Evil organisation? Secret assassin guild? You're being delusional! And who's Jackie?"

"This whole trial is a set up against me! A conspiracy! I'm a threat to you so you want to get rid of me! You want to descriditate me by making me look insane! This was your plan all along, right!? I won't get along with this, I'm done playing this game!"

"Kenmochi, calm down and sit back!" the judge ordered.

Shiena froze. She realized that she was shouting in the middle of a trial. Everyone was looking at her as if she was crazy, mumbling to each others. She then noticed, in the back of the room, someone with dark hair tied up in a ponytail…

Shiena suddenly recognized her. The very person who was the reason why she was unjustly accused of murder. She could now feel her blood pulsating in her head.

"Jackie…"

Shiena stepped outside the witness box and started walking towards the crowd, much to their fright.

"Kenmochi, stop!" the judge ordered.

"She's there… Jackie… She's there! She's the one who framed me, she's the real killer! Arrest her! Arrest her right now!"

Shiena started to rush towards the crowd, seeing red, ready to take care of Jack herself. But before she could reach her, she was suddenly pinned to the ground by a policewoman. Shiena tried to struggle, but it was in vain. The cop was way stronger than her.

"Kenmochi-san, you need to calm down!" the cop said.

"Let me go! She's there! Jackie is just right there! She's the real killer! Go arrest her!"

"Please, I need a sedative!"

Another cop joined them and Shiena felt something sting her arm. She continued to struggle until her muscles became limp and she lost her strength. When she stopped moving the policewoman released her and pulled her back on her feet, before she brought her back to her seat. Shiena felt really relaxed and dizzy, like she was about to go to bed.

"See? Isn't it the reaction of an unstable and violent psychopath!?" the opposed attorney said.

"Have you no knowledge in psychiatry? This is not how a psychopath would act," Shiena's lawyer replied. "My client was victim of a psychotic episode. She's delusional, she thinks everything here is part of some conspiracy plot by an evil organisation. She's a victim of the system, nobody took care of her since she's a child, she had been mistreated by others, and exhausted by her job. With her untreated mental issues, it's not surprising that she snapped. My client needs help- medical help."

Shiena felt her head spinning. She wasn't even sure what was going on anymore. Where was she again? She just started laughing and crying, but she didn't even know why.

"The jury may deliberate," the judge said.

The jury left the courtroom as Shiena felt more and more dizzy. Her vision was becoming blurry and she felt like she may collapse at any moment. The jury took their seats, and time felt nonexistent as they talked amongst each other..

"What is the jury's conclusion?" the judge asked.

One member of the jury stood up.

"We declared the accused Kenmochi Shiena guilty of two murders, but non-criminally responsible for cause of insanity."

Those were the last words Shiena heard before she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

**Things aren't looking good for Shiena at all. What do you think will happen next?**


	20. Monochrome

**Warning: minor sexual content, mention of abortion.**

* * *

A world of pure whiteness. Wherever she looked, all Shiena could see was white. The walls, ceiling and floor were all of an immaculate white, and even the corridor she could see through the bars was totally white as snow. Seeing so much white could drive anyone crazy.

Fitting when you were stuck in an asylum.

Shiena looked down. Even her clothes were white. She glanced at her hands, more precisely the handcuffs around her wrists, and sighed. Here she was, in solitary confinement in a hospital for the criminally insane, because of how "dangerous" she was to the other inmates. The court ruled her as an unstable psychotic killer, far more at risk than the usual people here.

Shiena didn't know which was worse. Being accused of murders she hadn't done? Having now two murders on her back? Being stuck in an asylum? Being now viewed as insane? Having been betrayed by someone she loved? Probably all of those, while fully knowing she was innocent. It was even worse since she knew who the real culprit was but was powerless to do anything about it.

She eventually laid back on the bed, which was, of course, all white too. Shiena gave up. There was nothing she could do, and frankly, her situation could have been far worse. She could have ended up in jail, with actual criminals, and eventually executed. Here at least she had the chance of maybe leaving, even if she knew her life would never be the same. It would be pretty hard to find a job after "killing" two people.

Shiena heard footsteps coming closer. She raised her head and saw a nurse standing in front of her cell.

"It's time for your medication, Kenmochi," the nurse said stoically.

Shiena remained confused as she slowly walked towards the bars.

"My… medication?"

"Yes. Antipsychotics. Because you're crazy, remember?"

Those words made Shiena wince. She hated hearing those words. She wasn't crazy.

"I'm not psychotic," Shiena said between her teeth.

"Of course honey," the nurse said as she rolled her eyes. "Now take your meds."

The nurse opened a small trap and slipped a plate with a glass of water and two pills. Shiena looked at them with hesitation.

"But… what if I'm not psychotic? I don't want to fuck up my brain," Shiena argued.

"If you're not psychotic, they won't have any effect on your brain. So take them."

Shiena continued to have doubts, but she knew she would probably get into trouble if she didn't take them. So she grabbed the pills and put them in her mouth, then drank some water before swallowing it all.

"Good. I'll be back later for your appointment with your psychiatrist. You should get some rest."

And thus, the nurse left. A psychiatrist she said? Maybe they would notice that she wasn't crazy. Then would she be sent to jail? Shiena decided to not overthink it and simply went back to bed, slipping under the blanket, closing her eyes and eventually falling asleep.

* * *

Dragged by two guards, Shiena was led through a corridor. She offered no resistance, and yet they were still unnecessarily rough with her. They stopped when they reached a door and came inside, still pulling Shiena with them. The room only had a metallic table with two chairs, one at each edge. The guards made her sit on one of them and fixed her handcuffs to the table. They then stood there for a moment, until someone else stepped inside the room.

"You may leave, I would like to talk alone with my patient."

Shiena raised her head. The person who walked in was a young woman with golden eyes, wearing a lab coat. The guards simply left the room as she went to sit in front of Shiena, dropping a file on the table. She was smiling, but it didn't seem out of kindness or friendliness. She looked strictly professional but there was some curiosity in her gaze.

"So you must be Kenmochi Shiena," the woman said as she opened the file and looked through the papers.

"Y-Yeah... and… who are you?"

"I'm Shutou Suzu, and I'll be your psychiatrist."

Shiena remained silent for a moment. Suzu looked like she had finished reading something and raised her head, still smiling.

"I want you to trust me and feel at ease with me, Kenmochi-san. I'm here to help you. I need to get to know you better if I want to be able to offer you my best support."

Shiena let out a bitter giggle. Was she part of this conspiracy against her? Was she too, paid by that woman who deceived her? Not that she really cared. It wasn't like it would change anything.

"Get to know me huh? Well, what can I say… oh, I know. I didn't kill those two women and I'm not insane. It's all part of this big conspiracy to silence me because I discovered the truth."

"And what is the truth?"

Shiena was surprised. She was expecting Suzu to shut her down and call her crazy, yet she seemed interested in what she had to say.

"Jackie is part of some evil organization, a guild of assassins, and they hired this shady lawyer to make it look like I'm crazy."

"Jackie? You mean Jack the Ripper of the 21st century?"

"Yeah."

Suzu seemed surprised for a moment before she let out a soft amused chuckle.

"What's funny?" Shiena asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought… it was kind of cute. You are nicknaming a serial killer. It kind of looks like you have a crush on them."

Shiena blushed at that comment and was overwhelmed by shame, remembering her crush on this very serial killer.

"It's… nothing like that. I'm fascinated by her, but that's all. And after she framed me for her murders, I can't… love her."

"Hm, I see."

Suzu was taking notes in her notebook.

"Talk to me about this 'evil organization'."

Shiena hesitated to answer. What if she was really part of this organization? Would she warn them that she knew too much and get her killed? Maybe it was safer to not say too much.

"It's… a guild of assassins. I don't know all the details, but I know Jackie is working with them."

"Anything else?"

"No…"

Suzu continued to take notes while Shiena decided to dare ask her a question.

"Are you… part of this organization?"

Suzu remained silent for a moment before she smirked.

"Who knows?"

Shiena felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't like that. She didn't have the feeling Suzu wanted to harm her, but she definitely couldn't trust her.

"I would like you to talk to me about your childhood. I read in your report that your parents are divorced."

"Y-Yeah… I was still really young when that happened."

"Do you know why they got divorced?"

"Uh… They never loved each other. They were both career people, and I was just the product of a one stand night. My mom got pregnant with me and… she initially wanted to abort me. But under their families' pressure, she kept the baby and married my father. I never saw them being happy together. I even felt like… they resented me for being born. I was nothing more than a burden for them, keeping them from their jobs and sucking up their money. A broken condom…"

As she said that Shiena felt a lump in her throat. She had to stop talking for a moment.

"I don't recall any of them ever reading me bed time stories, hugging me, coming to my plays at school, or even just… telling me they loved me. They were barely there at home, and I was always all alone… So I made up friends."

"You made up friends?"

"... Yeah… I had a hard time socializing with others at school, and being alone at home was just so… depressing. So I played with my plushies and other toys, gave them names, personalities, backstories… and they became my friends. I spent my days roleplaying with my plushies, creating scenarios with them, stories, and… I guess I took a liking for theatre in general."

"Mhm."

Suzu took a few more notes.

"It must have been hard for you. Your parents are the first people who should teach you love- it's essential for a healthy emotional development. You need that in order to grow your self-esteem. How can you learn to love yourself if your own parents didn't love you?"

Shiena didn't know what to add. What Suzu said seemed spot on. Her psychiatrist then looked at her watch and rose up.

"That will be all for today. With what you told me, I think I'll be able to help you. It was nice meeting you, Kenmochi-san."

"Yeah… same."

Suzu smiled and grabbed her stuff before leaving the room. The guards came back and took Shiena, bringing her back to her cell. She wasn't sure how to feel about this session, but she was at least certain of one thing.

It did make her feel better to talk about this to someone.

* * *

_A world of pure blackness. Shiena was walking through a dark corridor, so gloomy that she could barely see anything. Whatever she looked at, all she could see was the colour black. It didn't stop her from continuing onward, even if she didn't even know where she was going. Hell, she didn't even know how she got there in the first place._

_But then, she saw her. Despite the darkness, she could clearly see her. Jack was standing there, a couple of meters away. Shiena stopped walking for a moment, staring at her._

"_Jackie…"_

_Jack turned back and started to walk away._

"_No, wait!" Shiena exclaimed._

_And she went after Jack, who was walking faster, almost running. Shiena started to run too until she managed to catch up to her. She grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to stop. Jack remained motionless for a moment before she turned back. She was still wearing her mask._

"_Jackie…"_

_Jack remained silent. Now that her eyes got used to the darkness, Shiena could see that she had dressed in all black. Shiena felt anger rise up in her, remembering what Jack did to her._

"_You… lied to me. You deceived me! You manipulated me! You toyed with me and then betrayed me! Why did you do that!? Answer me, you bitch!"_

_Jack remained silent. Furious, Shiena grabbed her mask and ripped it off, revealing her face. _

_Shiena remained shocked. The person that was now facing her was not who she was expecting at all._

_It was like she was looking into a mirror._

_At first she thought it was Yamada Yuu, but she realized with horror the truth._

_She was Jack._

"_No… it can't be…" Shiena mumbled._

_A truly sinister grin appeared on Jack's lips. Shiena remained frozen as her doppelganger jumped on her and grabbed her neck, starting to strangle her. Shiena tried to struggle but she was losing her strength. And then everything became black._

Shiena woke up in a jolt. She was immediately blinded by the overall whiteness of the room and let out a grunt as she covered her eyes. She was left panting and all sweaty. Her eyes eventually got used to the light and she looked around. She let out a sigh when she saw that she was alone.

Alone in this asylum cell.

Shiena sat back in her bed. What was the meaning of this dream? Why did she dream of her as Jack? Was it because she had been accused of her murders? No, it seemed to be more than just that.

She ran a hand through her messy hair. She then closed her eyes, trying to understand the meaning of that nightmare.

"_..._"

Shiena opened her eyes and looked around. Strange. She had the feeling she heard something. It must have been her imagination. She closed her eyes, thinking again.

"_... You killed those people, didn't you?_"

Shiena immediately jolted as she opened her eyes. She rose up and frantically looked everywhere.

"Who's there!?"

But she could see nothing. She was alone in the cell. Shiena's heart was racing like crazy and she was breathing heavily as she continued to look around, worried and on her guard.

_Knock, Knock, Knock_

Shiena jolted again. She could hear someone knocking… on the wall? The knocking continued, but now on all the walls. Like someone was hitting on them- no, it felt like the sound was coming from the inside.

Shiena started to shiver. What the fuck was happening!? Panicked, she rushed towards the bars and started to shake them.

"Please, somebody help me! There's something in the cell!" Shiena shouted.

But no one was responding. More and more terrorized, Shiena started to kick the bars.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Shiena yelled desperately.

Finally, she heard footsteps approaching. After a couple of seconds, the usual nurse was facing her, looking kind of annoyed.

"What do you want, Kenmochi?"

"There's… there's someone- something, in my cell. I heard a voice… and knocking."

The nurse remained silent for a moment, looking unimpressed.

"'I'm not psychotic' she said… please don't make me lose my time like that."

The nurse turned back, ready to leave. Shiena was still hearing the knocking and, overtaken by fright, she grabbed the nurse's sleeve through the bars.

"Please, don't leave me with this thing!"

"L-Let me go, you nutcase!"

She was struggling, but Shiena refused to let her go.

"Don't you fucking dare abandon me here with that thing!" Shiena shouted.

She then pulled on the nurse shirt and drew her closer, pinning her against the bars.

"Open the door! Let me out of here, now!" Shiena screamed.

The nurse managed to grab her walkie-talkie.

"P-Please… send help… the patient lost her mind!" the nurse called.

Shiena tightened her grip around the nurse, determined to not let her go until she freed her. She didn't see the two guards coming. She didn't have the time to see their taser that electrocuted her arm, forcing her to release the nurse. Shiena let out a grunt of pain as she recoiled. The guards then got inside the cell and immediately pinned Shiena to the group, immobilizing her.

"Let me go! Don't touch me! You don't understand, there's something in here, something invisible- not human…!"

But before she could say more, she received another electric shock, sending her back in a world of pure blackness.

* * *

It wasn't the same. Even if she found a girl just like her, it wasn't comparable. Lying in this foreign bed, she was contemplating the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. A soft snore brought her back to reality. She turned her head and saw the young woman sleeping by her side. Her skin was so flawless, it looked so soft, just like her curly brown hair. She stretched a hand to gently pet her head, but she was met with disappointment.

It wasn't as soft and fluffy as Shiena.

Otoya let out a sigh. She didn't know what she was doing here. When she spotted that girl for a moment she thought it was Shiena, until she realized her mistake. She did look similar, especially the hair, but she wasn't Shiena. She wasn't special as her- no, she was just a nobody. She wasn't particularly pretty nor was her personality as interesting. Although, she was kind of cute. Just not Otoya's type.

Just like Shiena.

Yet she had nothing of Shiena's value.

Then why did they fuck? What did Otoya think she would accomplish? Not that it wasn't fun, but it wasn't like she could come. She needed to kill, and unfortunately, she couldn't without Nio's permission. That was the sad life of a hunting dog. Not that she wanted to kill that woman anyway, she had no beauty worth preserving.

This had been a waste of time. Otoya got up off the bed, fully naked. She rummaged through the clothing on the ground, managing to find her clothes and get dressed. Otoya didn't even deign looking at the girl she just had a one-stand night with and left the bedroom. She put on her boots and coat and without a second thought, she left the house.

It was pretty cold outside. But Otoya wasn't the chilly type, she could bear with it. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, enjoying the the cold air in her mouth, before she sighed. Due to the cold, her breath looked like steam. The sun wasn't up yet, but the moon was fully visible in the sky, weakly lighting the night.

She didn't want to admit it, but she did miss Shiena. What was so special about her anyway? She wasn't pretty, she wasn't wealthy, there was really no benefit in being with her… and yet she wanted to be with her so badly. She wanted to touch her smooth skin, run a hand in her soft and fluffy hair, kiss her sweet lips, cup her cute breasts, going lower, tease her special spot, taste her, go inside her…

Otoya sighed again. She was getting too excited. But at least it warmed her up on this cold night. She remembered the other day when she attended Shiena's trial. She didn't expect that the brunette would spot her in the crowd. But she had to admit, her reaction had been quite funny to see. So Shiena found out the truth huh…

Otoya really had hoped that the situation wouldn't go that way. But she knew it was probably for the best. After all, Shiena was a threat to her. It was a shame that she got arrested, but hey, better Shiena than her. She had been a fun toy to play with, but the world was full of playthings, so why did this one matter that much?

She could have any more fancier toys to play with, yet she missed the cheap one. What was so unique about it? Maybe Shiena was like one of those antiquities- obsolete, dusty, useless, yet worth a shit ton of money.

Otoya felt like there was a better comparison, but she couldn't find it.

She decided to stop overthinking it. It didn't matter anymore. Shiena was locked up and wouldn't get freed anytime soon. It was time to forget about this cheap toy.

Otoya finally arrived home and for once, didn't bother to put her coat where it belonged. She just dropped it on the floor and headed for her room, exhausted. It was even messier than usual. To avoid stumbling on something, she turned on the light and started undressing, only remaining in her black underwear. As she headed for her bed, something caught her attention. On the ground, there was a picture.

A picture of Shiena.

It was the first picture she ever got of her, the one Nio took. Honestly, this picture didn't do Shiena justice. She was way cuter in real life.

Otoya grabbed it, softly brushing Shiena's face, before she laid down in bed. She was still quite aroused by her previous thoughts and she could feel her center being wet. Otoya didn't find a reason to resist her urges and succumbed to her desire, as her hand found its way into her panties.

* * *

**Well, things are really not looking good for Shiena. And neither they do for Otoya.**

**Chapter a little bit shorter than usual, I'll try to get back to the usual lenght next time!**


	21. Fractures

**Hey there! Sorry for the wait, I got pretty busy. But as promised, this chapter is longer than the previous one (and most of the other chapters to be fair). When my girlfriend proofread it she got horrified by one particular scene, even tho I warned her. Let's see how you'll react all.**

**warning: mention of suicide, mass shooting, abortion, graphic violence and self-harm**

* * *

Shiena's head was spinning. Lying on the cold floor, she had a hard time remembering what happened. Her body felt numb and her head was pounding. She recognized that she was in her cell, but the reason why she was lying on the floor instead of the bed was unknown to her.

She tried to rise up, but she couldn't. She felt herself bound strongly, and she lowered her head, discovering with shock that she was now wearing a straitjacket. Shiena immediately felt panic arise in her as she started to struggle, in vain.

"Kenmochi-san, please stop. You'll only hurt yourself."

Shiena stopped when she heard those words. She raised her head and saw a nurse- not the usual one- standing in front of the bars. She was looking at her with concern.

"I'll come inside, is that okay with you?" the nurse asked.

As a reply, Shiena nodded weakly. The nurse opened the door and stepped inside, holding with her a plate. She set it on the ground as she crouched at Shiena's level. Delicately, she lifted the brunette and helped her to sit down. Shiena then saw what was on the plate- pills and a glass of water.

"How are you feeling, Kenmochi-san?" the nurse asked softly.

"I… I don't know. Everything is spinning around me, and my head hurts. What happened?"

"You had a psychotic episode. You started screaming that there was something invisible and not human and you assaulted a nurse. Do you remember that?"

Shiena had no memory of this event. All she knew is that she wasn't crazy. It must be a lie, that was the only explanation. But she didn't dare to voice her thoughts out loud.

"N-No…"

"Maybe it's better this way. It's time to take your meds."

The nurse took the pills and softly pressed them against Shiena's lips. She offered no resistance and allowed the nurse to feed them to her and have her drink up.

"Good. I'll let you rest for a moment and come back later for your appointment with your psychiatrist."

Shiena didn't reply anything to that. She let the nurse lift her and led her to her bed, where she lied down.

"I'll be back soon, try to sleep a little, okay?"

Shiena seemed nodded. The nurse smiled and left the cell, leaving Shiena alone.

Shiena wasn't particularly tired. But she still closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

The new nurse seemed nice. Way more friendly than the previous one. But still, she couldn't believe she had a psychotic episode. She wasn't psychotic- she was perfectly sane. It must be part of the conspiracy. She knew she wasn't crazy.

She wasn't crazy.

Right?

It was with this doubt in mind that Shiena sank into sleep.

* * *

Shiena immediately stretched out her arms. The restrainment had started to numb her arms. She was glad that the straitjacket was finally removed.

But the joy was short-term. As soon as she finished stretching, she ended up handcuffed. But at least it offered her more "freedom" than a straitjacket- and the ability to use the toilet on her own.

"Sorry for that. It's just a precaution, in case…- anyway, let's go," the nurse said.

The two usual guards were also there, but the nurse was the one who was leading her out of the cell and through the corridor, gently, as the guards followed them. They then stopped in front of a room Shiena recognized. The nurse led her inside, where she noticed Suzu's presence, sitting at one of the chairs, smiling.

"Welcome back, Kenmochi-san. Please take a seat."

It wasn't like Shiena had much of a choice. The nurse brought her to the remaining chair and made her sit, before fixing the handcuff to the table.

"I'll be back after the session," the nurse said before she left the room with the two guards, closing the door behind her.

Suzu opened her folder and took a few pieces of papers, before she looked at Shiena.

"I heard you had a certain incident yesterday. Would you like to tell me about it?" Suzu asked.

Shiena remained silent for a moment, staring at the table as she nervously played with her fingers.

"I… I don't remember what happened. Apparently I… started screaming about something invisible in my cell, and attacked a nurse…"

"Do you know why?"

"N-No… as I said I don't even remember doing that…"

"Mhm."

Suzu didn't add anything to that and simply took a few notes in her notebook.

"Last session you told me about your childhood. Would you feel comfortable if we continue? Maybe about when you were older- a teenager."

Shiena became tense. Her teen years had been a rough period for her- if not the outright worst time of her life (well, if she didn't count her getting framed for murder and locked in an asylum). She didn't really want to talk about it, but perhaps that just like last time, talking about it would make her feel better.

"Middle school… was relatively okay. I had a few friends, I was in the drama club, my grades were decent. Some people were bullying me, but at least I wasn't alone. Us bullied kids stick together, which made things bearable. But then came high school…"

Shiena stopped for a moment, feeling a lump in her throat, before she continued.

"When I was in middle school I was mostly living with my mother and was at my father's house during the weekends. Even if my parents were divorced, they still lived in the same town. But then, when I finished middle school, my mother moved out due to her work. I had to follow her to another town and… I lost all my friends. I ended up in a high school where I knew nobody. I was really nervous and when it was time to introduce myself, I… I stuttered a lot. People must have viewed me as weak. I got picked on right on my first day. They waited after school to ambush me in the bathroom and… bullied me."

Those awful memories she tried to bury deep in her mind suddenly came back.

"High school had been a living hell for me. Every day, people insulted me, broke my stuff, stole from me, put gross stuff in my locker, and even beat me up. Each day I prayed to be sick so I wouldn't have to go to school… And I wished that the school would just burn down and everyone who bullied me would get struck by lightning," Shiena said bitterly.

"So you wished death on those who hurt you."

Shiena let out a dark giggle.

"Who wouldn't? Not that I could actually kill anyone. It's not out of a lack of desire, just… that I don't have it in me."

"You mean… even if you wanted to kill, you couldn't?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. It may sound weird for Suzu, given that Shiena had been judged guilty of two murders. But Shiena knew she was innocent, and she knew she couldn't kill even if she wanted to. She even had proof. But explaining it… would reopen a scar from the past. But with what happened recently, it was probably wide open now and heavily bleeding. So perhaps confessing to Suzu would at least bandage it.

"I… at some point, I… planned to shoot up the school. And then kill myself."

Suzu stopped taking notes for a moment and raised her head, looking at Shiena with what appeared to be astonishment.

"You… wanted to shoot up the school?"

"And then myself."

"But… how?"

"I… got a gun. I brought it to school. I really wanted… to kill every one of those bastards who mistreated me, and I dreamt about it for so long… but I couldn't do it. I really wanted to do it, but… I didn't have the strength to."

Suzu remained silent for a moment, which made Shiena worried. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. She was overwhelmed by regret and wished she could just vanish right now.

"Kenmochi-san… you don't have to feel bad for that. Given your situation, nobody could blame you. You can't feel remorse over something you didn't do. I think it's way more brave to not kill rather than kill. If you had done it, you would have ended up in jail."

Given the circumstances, would it have been so bad? What did the fact that she didn't end up in jail as a teen bring to her life? Getting arrested as an adult for murders she hadn't done and thrown in an asylum? But still, Suzu's words warmed up her heart. It felt good to have at least one person who didn't condemn her for her actions.

"My only comfort during those dark years was… my online group of friends."

"What online group?"

"It was called… Collective Dismissal. A group of bullied people- they helped me go through all that suffering. They are the ones… who taught me how to hack. I owe them most of my skills and knowledge in computer science."

"I see. At least you did have some friends. Are you still in contact with them?"

"...N-Not really… I love a lot of them, but some of them… were into pretty shady stuff. So I prefered to take some distance with them."

"Ah, I see."

Suzu took a few more notes until she looked at her watch.

"That will be all for today. Thanks for your cooperation. And don't torment yourself about the past, Kenmochi-san. You did nothing wrong."

Shiena didn't know if she could believe those words, but it did feel good to hear them. The nurse came back to bring her back to her cell, and for the first time since she arrived in this asylum, Shiena felt somewhat nice.

Perhaps being here wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Otoya did one last check up in her store to make sure everything was in the right place, before she turned off the lights. All the other employees had left a while ago, and as the owner, Otoya always stayed a little longer.

She stepped outside the shop and closed the door, before locking it. She then let out a sigh.

Another good day of work selling flowers to morons who will never be able to truly understand their beauty. Unlike her. Otoya walked away from the flower shop, ready to go home. But first, she had one stop to make.

On her way home, she passed by the drug store. She had a few items to buy. She stopped by the pharmacy nearby and wandered in the alleys, looking for what she needed. A bottle of aspirin, a box of bandages, some lube and a pack of beers. As she went to the cash register, Otoya noticed a familiar figure who was exiting the drug store. Otoya quickly paid and grabbed her bag, following that person.

She exited the pharmacy and looked around, before she spotted the person she was looking for. They were walking on the sideway before they turned to go through the backstreet. Otoya smirked to herself as she went after themt. She didn't even try to be discreet- what was the point anyway? They were alone, it was the night, and it wasn't like someone would bother them.

Her target stopped walking, as if they heard her. They immediately turned back and were greeted by Otoya's best fake friendly smile.

"Oh, so it was really you. Hey, Mahiru-chan ~"

Mahiru remained frozen. She then flinched when Otoya started to walk closer to her, much to her pleasure. Mahiru really looked like a helpless little animal. Life had started to get monotonous and boring. Otoya was in constant need of stimulation- she needed distractions to kill time. She had been stripped of her right to hunt down beautiful women, confined to be a mere hitman. She used to be an untamed wolf and now she was nothing more than a domesticated dog. She had lost her freedom and was forced to obey orders.

She also had lost her favourite toy.

Well, perhaps it was time to get a new one. And lucky her, there was one right in front of her.

"What did you get at the store, Mahiru-chan?" Otoya asked cheerfully.

When she said that, Mahiru immediately brought her bag closer to her and started to recoil. But before she could go, Otoya nearly jumped on her and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, where are you going? I just want to chat with you. That's kinda rude of you to try to leave like that without even saying hello."

Mahiru weakly struggled, which only amused Otoya, who tightened her grip. She then ripped Mahiru's bag out of her hands and pulled back. Mahiru immediately stretched her arm to get it back but Otoya pushed her away.

"Aww, why are you being so mean to me? I just want to get to know you better. Now let's see what you got at the store…"

Otoya looked inside the bag, but all she found was a single flask. She grabbed it to examine it, while still keeping Mahiru from taking it back.

"Huh? What's that? Pills? You have a prescription?" Otoya asked.

Mahiru didn't answer, still desperately trying to take back what was hers. Otoya simply pushed her to the ground while taking a closer look at the flask.

"Seroquel?" Otoya read. "What's that for?"

Mahiru stayed quiet as she tried to get back on her feet, only to get pushed down once again.

"Are you perhaps some kind of psycho? Schizo maybe? Is poor Mahiru-chan crazy?"

Faced with Mahiru's silence, Otoya decided to get more assertive. She stomped on Mahiru's stomach, not enough to harm her, but enough to keep her from moving.

"I ask you a question. The least you can do is answer it," Otoya said coldly.

Mahiru still refused to talk. Otoya wasn't the impatient type, but she did dislike when people didn't do as she said. So she started to press on her belly, which made Mahiru utter a gasp of pain.

"I tried being nice. You only have yourself to blame. Now tell me what I want to know, or else, well… let's just say you don't want to see what I'm capable of."

Tears started to bead in Mahiru's eyes, which made her beautiful amethyst gaze more bright. What a pleasant sight.

"I… those… those are… for… my anxiety."

"Huh? Anxiety? There are pills for that? Pff, you should just toughen up."

With no surprise, Mahiru started to sob. Otoya sighed as she removed her foot from her belly. It would be bad if she reported her to the police. Although, she highly doubted that someone as weak as she was, and without any evidence, could prove shit. As long as she didn't leave any marks, it should be fine.

"Aww, poor little Mahiru-chan. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just want us to get along. Here, let me help you."

Otoya crouched a little and offered her hand to Mahiru with a warm smile. Mahiru seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she looked down. She then grabbed Otoya's hand, who helped her get on her feet.

But as soon as she was standing up, Mahiru raised her head and glanced at Otoya. She pulled on her arm, bringing her closer to her, before violently punching her right in the face.

Otoya didn't see that coming. Upon the shock, Otoya staggered, but managed to remain on her feet. She stared back at Banba, who had raised her fist, ready to punch her again.

But this time, Otoya saw her coming and dodged her attack, before pushing her away and recoiling. Banba's look was completely different. The usual shy and docile girl was gone- she now looked so feral, full of rage and ready to beat you up. Otoya licked the blood that was pouring from her injured nose and grinned.

"Well, well, finally you showed me your dark side, Mahiru-chan. I knew you weren't who you pretended to be. You reek of blood, just like me. A monster with a human mask-"

"Shut the hell up ya freak! I ain't Mahiru!"

Otoya went quiet. What the fuck was she talking about? How could she not be Mahiru? But then, something came back like a flash in Otoya's mind.

_"It seems so… But that girl, she keeps attracting nice and generous people, like she was… gaining their sympathy. I feel like she must be somewhat pitiful, maybe shy, someone that arises compassion and the desire to protect. Yet those murders are so brutal, it has to be someone rough, aggressive, unstable. It feels like this girl and the murderer are two completely different people, yet both the culprit…" Shiena said_

_"Maybe the personality change is because of her psychosis, maybe she has psychotic rages that change her behaviour," Otoya proposed._

Upon remembering this conversation with Shiena, Otoya understood. She then smirked.

"I see. So you're not Mahiru-chan. You're her other personality, right?"

"Oh? Ya know 'bout me? Well then, there ain't any reason to hide it. The name's Banba Shinya, and it ain't nice to meet you."

"Oh, Shinya-chan then-"

"Call me 'chan' again and I'll rip out your eyes."

"Shinya then. Let me guess, you're the Demolisher, right?"

For the first time, Shinya looked uneasy. She clenched her fists, like she was fighting the urge to simply beat the shit out of Otoya.

"How… do ya know that?"

"Hm? Oh, well… let's just say I have a good friend who may have put me on the right path."

Shinya clenched her teeth as her eyes screamed fury.

"Then, ya won't walk from here alive."

On those words, Shinya rushed towards Otoya, her fist raised. Otoya stopped her attack with her palm and her expression tensed with pain. Shinya was awfully strong. This strength was surprising, coming from such a frail girl. Otoya was quite strong herself, but she was forced to admit that Shinya was physically stronger than her. But it didn't mean she couldn't beat her.

Shinya tried to punch her with her other fist, which Otoya managed to grab too, although not without pain. She was now holding both Shinya's fists. Otoya tried to overpower her and push her away, but Shinya didn't let her. She instead started to push Otoya who, weaker than her, was forced to recoil, until she was violently slammed against the wall.

Otoya tried to break free, in vain. Shinya was simply stronger than her. She was now grinning, like she was already savoring her victory. But Otoya remained perfectly calm and thought. She grinned too when she suddenly got an idea.

She gave a quick and powerful headbutt to Shinya, who immediately let out a grunt of pain as she let go of Otoya, reeling back. Otoya took advantage of the fact her opponent was seeing stars to rush towards her and violently knee her in the stomach. Shinya was bent over in pain, and Otoya was far from done. As Shinya's face was lowered, Otoya didn't hesitate to punch, before making her trip. Shinya collapsed to the ground and Otoya didn't allow her the time to get up before she started to repetitively kick her. Shinya groaned in pain as she curled up, trying to cover herself with her arms. It didn't stop Otoya from kicking her with great joy, laughing like crazy. But that amusement was soon replaced by contempt, so much that she didn't even want her foot to touch Shinya. It seemed that despite her strength, which was probably the result of a raise of adrenaline, she was actually not that resilient.

"Pathetic," Otoya said with scorn as she stopped her assault. "For years I viewed you as my ultimate rival- I was so eager to finally meet you, and this is what I discovered. A frail and weak little girl. So disappointing. You didn't live up to my expectations. Demolisher my ass, more like-"

Otoya suddenly fell to the ground. She realized too late that Shinya grabbed her ankle and made her trip. Before she could get up, Shinya was straddling her, and started to strangle her.

"Ya fucking bitch! Ya really think I would let ya kill me?! I didn't even intend to kill ya, but now ur gonna fucking die. I can't let ya live after ya learned Mahiru's secret!"

Otoya tried to push her back, without any success. She was quickly starting to lose oxygen, and at this rate, it wouldn't take long for her to die. Was it really the end for her? Hoisted by her own petard. Kind of ironic, isn't it? The bully killed by the bullied.

Not that she would let that happen.

"Shin...ya… I'm not gonna… denounce you. I'm…. just like you. I'm… Jack the Ripper… of the 21st century."

Shinya continued to strangle her for a moment and Otoya felt like she was about to lose consciousness. But then, Shinya suddenly stopped and stared at her.

"Jack… the Ripper? Ya mean… the serial killer?"

Otoya gasped and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with that sweet oxygen she was oh-so craving for.

"Yeah. And not only that. I'm also part of a powerful organization. I could be a great help for you. I'm earning quite a lot of money, so if you ever need some financial support-"

"Mah girlfriend is the heiress of a successful CEO. I don't need your blood money."

"Ok… but still, you have no reason to kill me. If I denounce you, you'll then denounce me, and we'll both end up in jail and eventually get executed. And if you kill me, my group won't let my death go unpunished. You don't want anything bad happening to Mahiru-chan, right? Or even your girlfriend."

Those words seemed to deeply trouble Shinya. Otoya had to force herself to not smile.

"And, I ain't Mahiru-chan's type, right? Would you really dirty your hands to kill someone like me? Is it really worth it?"

Shinya seemed to hesitate, before she straightened up, yet still on top of Otoya.

"You're right. Ya ain't worth it. I kill for Mahiru's sake, and your death won't bring her any valuable relics."

Otoya sighed. She didn't get what she meant by relics, but at least it meant she'll live to see another day.

"Hey, let's be friends, ok? I think we have a lot in common- we could get along pretty well," Otoya proposed.

Shinya remained stoic before a sinister smile appeared on her lips.

"Sure, let's be friends. But first, friends gotta owe each other debt, right?"

"Uhhhh…. yeah?"

"Ya see, ya hurt me pretty badly earlier, so it would only be fair if I do the same to you, right?"

Before Otoya could reply at all, Shinya suddenly punched her left arm and an awful sound of cracking followed. Otoya didn't realize at first what happened, until pain suddenly consumed her. She let out a strangled cry of pain as Shinya giggled.

"Here, now we're even," Shinya said as she rose up. "Seeya later, 'friend'."

And thus, Shinya picked back her stuff and left the backstreet without turning back. Otoya remained on the floor, wriggling in pain. She tried to think about something else to ease the pain, but it didn't seem to work.

Until she thought about Shiena.

It seemed to work this time, probably because of endorphins or something. Otoya pathetically rose up and took a look at her arm. It was starting to get blueish.

Otoya sighed. No doubt, it was broken. Great.

"Ah, fuck."

Otoya grabbed back her bag and looked inside. Judging by her injury, she'd need more than a bandage.

Definitely, life sucked these days.

* * *

"... Shiena."

Someone was calling her. A voice that seemed far away. Almost like it wasn't from this world. She didn't like that voice. She just wanted to ignore and pretend she didn't hear it.

"Shiena…"

Shiena grunted as she started to wriggle. No, she didn't want to answer. She didn't want to see that person. She suffered too much because of them, and she had enough.

"Shiena!"

Shiena finally opened her eyes. She was welcomed by the same white ceiling. She was in her cell. She felt really dizzy and her vision was even more blurry than usual. What kind of dream was she having? This person she heard calling her, could it be…?

"Shiena."

Shiena jolted. She heard this voice again. It wasn't in her dream? Was this voice real? Or was she hallucinating?

"Shiena!"

Shiena got up from bed and looked frantically around. There was no one around in her cell other than her- she was all alone.

"I'm here."

She jolted again as she turned her head, to discover that there was someone in front of the cell.

A woman was standing in front of the bars. She had long wavy chestnut hair and her eyes seemed to be brown. Shiena couldn't see well without her glasses, but she did feel like she knew this person.

Shiena stood up and walked towards the bars to get a better look at who was there. That hair, those eyes, they looked…. familiar. Really similar to…

To her.

"... Mother?"

"Have you any idea of the embarrassment you put me through!?"

Shiena remained frozen. Yep, that angry voice, definitely her mother.

"... What…?"

"People are starting to spread rumours about me. That I'm the mother of a psychopath. I did everything I could so people wouldn't know we were related, but it seemed that I had been neglectful…"

"It wouldn't be the first time…"

"Shut up! Why have you done such a thing!? Have you even thought about me? About the shame and dirt you would put on my name? Of course not. You always have been a selfish little brat. A real waste of time, space, resources, money… I didn't raise you for you to become a fucking killer!"

"You didn't even raise me!"

Her mother stopped talking for a moment as she made the most offended look possible.

"How dare you! You ungrateful offspring! I bore you for nine months, I gave birth to you, I gave you a home and you never missed anything!"

"So you fucked once without protection and then threw money at me. Wow, you surely deserve the award of Mother of the Year."

"Shut up! I did everything I could to raise you, you had everything you needed…"

"Except love."

Her mother didn't seem to have expected this answer. Shiena hoped that perhaps it would open up her eyes and maybe melt her heart of ice, but instead, her mother started to laugh with such contempt in her voice.

"Love? You missed love? You poor baby, she wasn't loved enough. Do you want me to cry for you? Or maybe you need some warm milk? Or that I change your diaper?"

Shiena couldn't believe what her mother was saying. She was making fun of her pain and made it look like it was trivial. Everything was her fault yet she didn't even seem to feel regret for her actions or even acknowledge her mistakes. It made Shiena boil with rage as tears of anger and sadness started to form in her eyes.

"You never loved me. You never loved my father. You never loved anyone. Except yourself."

"Come on, don't be like that. Toughen up a little, you're an adult now. You can't live in the past anymore. Not that I blame you, given how shitty your present is and your future will be…"

"Shut up!" Shiena suddenly yelled. "You have no idea of all the shit I went through because of you! I never had any self-esteem because of you- I always thought I had no value and no worth! I had no confidence in myself, someone as shy and nervous as me was an easy target for bullies. Do you even know all the mistreatment I went through in high school? Not that you would have cared. I nearly fucking shot up-"

"You shut up! Stop playing the sad and pathetic little victim! You're not the only one who suffered you know! I was forced to marry a man I didn't love, I had to bare you in me for nine months, you left marks on my body, I lost the promotion I was so looking forward to for years, and my family looked at me with scorn as if I was a whore! And all for what? An ungrateful, vulgar, useless and miserable clump of cells! But, you have my blood, my genes, you came from me. I'll always be your mother and thus, you owe me respect!"

Shiena took a deep breath before she stared at her mother with all the resent she had against her.

"No, you're not my mother. Blood means nothing, birth certificates means nothing, that's not what family is. You've never been a mother to me, and you don't deserve to call yourself that. You were never my mother, and you never will be. I owe you nothing. Next time, learn how to use protection."

Seeing her mother red with fury made Shiena smirk with satisfaction, which only infuriated her mother even more.

"I should have fucking aborted you!" her mother yelled.

Shiena violently grabbed the bars and glared at her mother.

"I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance!" Shiena shouted back.

Her mother looked utterly shocked when she heard those words. It made Shiena laugh, but not out of joy. Her laughing simply sounded insane.

"_Kill her… kill her…_"

Shiena flinched. Again with this voice…

"You… you fucking sociopath! You're no daughter of mine!"

"I'm the result of how you raised me. If you want a culprit to blame, look at yourself in the mirror."

"_Kill her… kill that bitch… right now…_"

Her mother started to recoil, visibly afraid and disgusted.

"You're dead to me. I don't want to see you ever again."

"Oh, trust me, once I'm out of here, you'll be the one dead. For real."

"_Now…. do it…. do it now!_"

Surrendering to the voice, Shiena passed her arms through the bars and tried to grab her mother, who immediately reacted by jumping backward.

"You… you're fucking crazy… stay away from me!"

And as she yelled that, her mother ran away as Shiena was simply laughing madly.

"_Don't worry, you'll kill her one day… You'll kill everyone who wronged you._"

Shiena stopped laughing. Those words paralyzed her.

She'll kill people? She'll become… a murderer? A serial killer?

It had always been her worst fear yet her deepest desire.

"No… I don't… I don't want to be a killer!"

"_You will. It's your destiny._"

The voice felt like it was coming from behind her. Shiena quickly turned back, but there was no one behind her. She was all alone in this white prison.

"_You won't find me. You can't see me._"

"Where the fuck are you, you bastard!?"

"_Follow your own advice. If you want a culprit to blame, look at yourself in the mirror._"

Shiena realized with horror what the voice meant. There was no one else than her here. This thing, whatever it was, couldn't be seen.

Because it was in her.

Shiena felt horrified. She could have pictured some disgusting and monstrous parasite lurking and creeping in her brain. She couldn't bear the thought of having something… evil inside of her.

She had to get it out.

Shiena started to frantically scratch her forehead, as if it would do anything. All she managed to do was claw her face to blood. She let out a groan of pain. It wasn't enough. She needed something stronger so she could get rid of this parasyte.

She needed to open up her skull.

Shiena stared at the wall, this freaking white wall, and got an idea. She walked towards it and put her hands on her. Then she took a deep breath.

And violently smashed her head against the wall.

Shiena gasped in pain. It hurt like hell. But she was determined to continue, no matter the suffering.

So she hit her head against the wall again, and again, and again, and again…

Her head now felt so numb that she couldn't feel pain anymore. She felt something wet roll on her face and wondered if she was crying again.

Then she took a look at the wall. The white was immaculate anymore. There was now a red stain on it.

Finally, some colour on this boring white wall.

Shiena could help but laugh maniacally. She didn't even remember what she was doing right now, and she didn't care. She just wanted to paint the whole wall red.

So she continued to smash her forehead against the wall with no restrain, laughing like crazy. At each hit, blood drops splashed everywhere, like a beautiful crimson dance.

Then another colour joined. Black spots. The more she hit her head, the more there was. The blackness was slowly taking over her sight.

And then everything became black, followed by a heavy drop on the floor.

* * *

**Oof, that was a pretty harsh way to end this chapter. Will Shiena be okay?**

**For once, Otoya got what she deserved. Hoisted by her own petard.**

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you equally enjoyed it. Seeya next week!**


	22. Unlovable

**Warning: Graphic depiction of violence**

* * *

_There was nothing more than a large blank canvas, white as snow, in this place of nothingness. Red drops suddenly splashed on the pure white. They spread on the canvas until they formed a misshapen oval. Then, three black spots that seemed to be paint appeared on the canvas, turning it into a wet and messy mosaic. The black stains started to move to take a shape, three moon-like figures, resembling two eyes and a smiling mouth, above the red spot._

_A mask made of blood with eyes darker than black._

_Then, the black paint for the eyes started to drip, making it look like tears of tar. The smile started to drip too, slowly turning into a frown. Then the mask melted completely and there was nothing more than a red and black mess on a now dirty previously blank canvas._

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep…

What was that noise? Could it be her alarm clock? Was she going to be late for school?

No, wait… she graduated years ago. She was an adult now. Then… was she going to be late for work?

But what was her job again? A computer technician? No, she was doing something else, but she couldn't quite remember it…

No, this beeping wasn't the one of an alarm clock. It was too soft and slow. It sounded like… a watch? No, not quite that. This beeping was really not trying to wake her up or warn her about the time. The frequency, it reminded her of… a heart beat?

Shiena finally opened her eyes. Not that it changed anything- her vision was so blurry that she couldn't distinguish anything in the room, except maybe the white ceiling. Not only was it terribly blurry, it felt like the room was spinning and her body was awfully numb. She didn't have the strength nor even the will to move, all she wanted to do was to go back to sleep.

"Kenmochi, are you awake?"

Ah, shit. She wasn't alone. Shiena was just tempted to ignore the voice and closed her eyes.

"Can you hear me? Kenmochi?"

The voice was insisting. Listening to it slowly brought her back to reality. She was lying on a soft surface, but she knew it wasn't her bed. Then… where was she? And who the hell was calling her?

She realized that there was something that was keeping her from moving. Her wrists and ankles were bound- she was tied up. She knew that she should freak out, but she didn't. She just felt so calm, so relaxed, so… at peace.

"Where… where am I?" Shiena asked weakly, her mouth nearly totally numb.

"The hospital room. You suffered from a serious head trauma and a slight skull fracture. Do you remember how you ended up injured, Kenmochi?"

This voice sounded deep and even assertive, but it was definitely a woman's voice. A hospital she said? Skull fracture? She got injured? But how? Shiena tried to search her memories, trying to remember the previous event.

Yes, she remembered now. She was… in an asylum. Framed for Jackie's murders. Her mother went to visit her, then there was that voice, and then…

"There was… something… in my head. I needed to get it out…" Shiena mumbled.

"Yes, you have something in your head. A squishy, fragile, bloody and oh-so important thing. Your brain. You are lucky that your skull didn't break too deep, but we don't know yet the extent of the damage on your brain. You'll have to stay in bed for a while so we can monitor your state and be sure there won't be any negative side effects."

The voice sounded so far away. Shiena slowly turned her head and could see what was keeping her prisoner: leather straps holding her wrists and ankles at each corner of the bed. She didn't bother to struggle. She didn't have the strength nor the motivation to do so anyway. She just wanted to go back to sleep.

As she turned her head to the other side, she saw the person with her. She seemed maybe taller than her, wearing what looked like a doctor's outfit, black hair, and there was something on her face- glasses perhaps?

"How are you feeling, Kenmochi?" the doctor asked.

"I… feel good, I think?"

"Do you feel any pain?"

"No… I don't think so. I just feel like… I'm floating on a cloud. I'm so relaxed, so calm, it feels… great."

And as she said that, Shiena let out a soft giggle. She was feeling quite good to be frank. She wouldn't mind if things remained this way forever.

"I see that the morphine and painkillers worked perfectly. The nurse will check on you regularly. If you start feeling unwell, there's a button next to your right hand. Press it and the nurse will come right away."

"Okay… thanks…"

The doctor left the room. Finally, she was alone. She could go back to sleep, where nothing bad ever happened, where she wouldn't have to deal with this painful reality anymore.

She kind of wished she would never wake up.

* * *

"You must be kidding me, right? What the hell is that?!"

Sitting comfortably in her armchair, Otoya was scrolling down her phone, taking the time to finish was she was reading before raising her head, a smile on her lips.

"Oh, hi, Hashi- Kuzuno- You! As I can see, you still haven't learned to knock before entering…"

"What the fuck happened to you?"

"Hm, I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by that," Otoya said with an innocent look on her face.

"This!" Nio exclaimed as she pointed to Otoya's arm.

Otoya looked at her arm, which was encased in a cast, and acted as if she was surprised.

"Oh, that… it's nothing. I just fell down the stairs," Otoya replied.

"And your broken nose?"

"The stairs too."

Otoya kept a straight face. Lying had never been stressful for her- she was a natural born liar. Not that Nio seemed to believe her. It didn't matter to Otoya- she couldn't care less what that midget thought.

"How are you supposed to kill if you're basically a cripple now?" Nio complained.

"Hey, that's offensive!"

"Right, as if you care. 'Disabled' then."

"Well, I guess I'll have to take some vacation time, then. Doesn't Black Guild offer some health insurance? Injury benefits?"

"We don't."

"What!?" Otoya exclaimed with her best offended voice. "What kind of work conditions are those? We're not in the 19th century anymore- my ancestors fought to protect workers' interest!"

Nio looked extremely annoyed by Otoya's comedy attempt, before an unsettling grin appeared on her face.

"Well, feel free to make your own union. What would it be called? The Union for Professional Assassins?"

Otoya smirked. Not bad. When she wanted, Nio could be quite good at banter, but she'd be the one to have the last word.

"Well, sorry then- I guess I won't be able to get back to work for a while. Unless you want to take the risk of sending me on a mission with a broken arm."

"Of course not. Not that we care about your safety, but it would be a pain in the ass if you failed and got caught. Fine then, you can take a break, but you won't be paid."

"Fine with me. That's all I'm asking for," Otoya agreed.

"Great. I'll let you to your… whatever the hell you get up to. Come back by my bar when you're doing better."

As Nio looked like she was about to walk away, she suddenly turned back towards Otoya.

"Before I leave, I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"Did Kenmochi Shiena learn the truth about you?" Nio asked coldly.

Otoya wasn't expecting that sort of question. She wasn't expecting to hear Shiena's name again either. How much did Nio or her organization know about this? She remembered what Nio made her promise. To kill Shiena if she discovered her true identity or the existence of Black Guild. Which she hadn't done. And she wouldn't let Nio learn the truth about that. She didn't particularly want to die.

"Nah, I don't think so. Why?" Otoya asked, perfectly calm.

"I know she was at your house the night she got arrested. She left your house after midnight. Do you why? Isn't it strange to leave so late in the middle of the night?" Nio asked, suspicious.

"We kind of… argued. It's a little bit embarrassing, but… I may have… kissed her. Which she didn't like. She got rightfully upset and left my house," Otoya explained.

Nio remained silent but it was obvious she was having doubts about Otoya's story. Not that she cared, it wasn't like Nio could prove shit. And there was something else she was also doubtful about.

"Shiena got arrested for my murder, the one you asked me to do this very day. So I'm just wondering… how did Shiena end up at the crime scene?" Otoya questioned.

"I have no idea. Maybe she saw you at that house? And after you argued, she went to take a look there. Well, regardless, she was a nuisance. So good riddance, am I right?"

Otoya clenched her fist. She wasn't sure if Nio was lying or not and if she had some kind of involvement in this. She knew Nio was just like her- a liar. But she was almost as good as her at lying. Still, she remained annoyed by how she referred to Shiena, even if she knew she was technically telling the truth.

"Yeah, good riddance," Otoya replied with a forced smile.

"Well then, now I'll really take my leave. Rest well, Takechi-san, and don't get yourself into more trouble."

"I won't. Bye."

And thus, Nio left her house. Otoya remained sitting for a moment, trying to continue passing time on her cell phone, but she was invaded by an ungodly rage. She always had been good at controlling herself, but right now, she just wanted to explode.

She took a deep breath to calm down, and then suddenly rose up. She grabbed the first thing in sight- a vase, and threw it violently at the nearest wall. The vase smashed in little pieces that fell to the floor. Despite this aggressive act, Otoya's face was stoic, but her body was awfully stiff. She then went back to sit down and took another deep breath and sighed. She picked up her phone and scrolled down again through Facebook, before an idea popped up in her mind.

She went on Shiena's profile and checked her latest post before getting arrested. A couple of news articles, and then… the poem she wrote to her. Reading it again felt so nostalgic.

No matter how she tried to forget her, Otoya did really miss Shiena.

* * *

Lost deep in her thoughts, Shiena gave no attention to her surroundings. In her mind, she was still in this white room, with the walls covered in red. She didn't know how long she had been there, but enough so that she would consider it her home. Did she even ever have a home before this one? She wasn't quite sure. What was a home to begin with? A house? An apartment? Anything with a roof where you could sleep under? No, it wasn't quite that.

A home was somewhere you could be happy and enjoy yourself- where you are loved and respected.

Shiena never had a home. She had a house, an apartment, but never a home. The closest to a home she ever had… was when she was living in Otoya's house.

And we all know how that turned out.

So this white room may be the only home she'll ever have.

"Kenmochi-san?"

This soft voice calling for her brought her back to reality. She wasn't in the white room anymore. And she wasn't alone either.

Suzu was facing her, sitting on her chair, her notebook opened. Shiena didn't quite recall how she ended up here, but she guessed that it must be her weekly session.

"Yeah?" Shiena replied, lifeless.

"It's been more than a week since you were released from the hospital. How are you feeling?"

A week already? How long did she stay in the hospital? How long had she been locked up in this asylum? Time flew so fast and the passage of it had been completely lost on her. It felt like she had been there forever, yet also like everything that led to this happened only yesterday.

"I feel… great. In fact, I've never felt so good in my entire life," Shiena replied with an empty smile.

"Okay… well, can you tell me what happened? How you ended up… with that injury on your head?"

At those words, Shiena instinctively touched her forehead. Her head was wrapped in multiple bandages. It didn't hurt anymore, but she felt some pain in her heart, remembering what happened before.

"My… my mother… she came… to visit me," Shiena said weakly.

Suzu seemed surprised by that and immediately looked at her notes, confusion growing even more in her golden eyes.

"Huh… are you sure your mother visited you?"

"Y-Yeah… why?"

"Because… nowhere in my notes does it mention that your mother was scheduled to visit you."

This revelation froze Shiena. She could even feel a chill down her spine. Her mother… never came to visit her? No, that was impossible! She saw her, she wasn't crazy…

Right?

"... She was there. I'm not crazy. She was really there," Shiena said with frost in her voice.

Suzu looked like she had to bite her tongue to not say something.

"Okay. Then, what happened… with your mother?"

"She… she told me… how much of a disappointment I was for her. How much she was ashamed of me. She even wished… I was never born. She never loved me- she always resented me and loathed me. To her, I ruined her life. And maybe… she's right."

"Kenmochi-san, you can't blame yourself for your mother's decision. Even if you were an accident, she was the one who didn't use protection and decided to carry her pregnancy to term. She decided to have you, and so it was her duty as your mother to take care of you, or give you up for adoption if she couldn't, and she did none of those things. Your mother was a neglectful and irresponsible person. You have nothing to blame yourself for- you never asked to be born. The sole one responsible for this is your mother."

Shiena never knew how much she was craving to hear those words. It wasn't her fault- it was all because of her mother. Her only "crime" was being born, which was totally out of her control. She had nothing to blame herself for.

"T-Thanks…" Shiena said sincerely.

"There's no need to thank me, I'm simply speaking the truth. So, what happened… after that?"

"Um… I think my mother left… yeah, she left. And… I was hearing voices, I think? Someone was talking to me but… from inside my head. And then… uh… I don't remember what happened."

"I see," Suzu replied as she took a few notes. "Well then, would you like to continue where we left last time? You talked about your teen years, how about your adulthood?"

"Adulthood… hm… it was definitely better than my teenage years- or even my childhood. I was living on my own, away from my parents. I got a pretty decent job where I could work from home, enough money to bring food on the table and pay the bills. I can't really complain. But then…"

Shiena's body became tense. Her thoughts were all hustling in her mind.

"I… fell in love with someone. Or… more like… an obsession. I was so fascinated by her, so captivated, but… it was unhealthy. This person was unhealthy, and toxic. She fooled me, she deceived me, she tricked me, she manipulated me… and then she betrayed me."

Shiena felt like her throat was tensing up.

"I… I really thought… she loved me. Nobody showed me as much affection as she did. She always comforted me when I felt down and she took care of me. She made me feel loved and valuable, like I was finally worthy of someone. But in the end, she just… toyed with me, like I was nothing more… than a plaything. She never cared about me, she never loved me… and like an idiot, I let her fool me…"

Shiena's lips were starting to shake.

"But… can you really blame me? No one ever loved me before, and there she was, so beautiful and radiant, showering me in affection and compliments. I'm just a pathetic, boring and bland girl. How was I supposed to resist? I wanted her so much, I loved her so much, and despite everything she did to me… I still love her."

Tears were now falling from her eyes.

"Is it too much to ask to be loved!? Why is there no one who truly loves me!? Am I so terrible? Am I disgusting? Loathsome? Or just plainly unlovable? Maybe I should just accept it. I was never loved… and never will…"

Shiena couldn't hold it back anymore. She started to sob. All the sadness she was feeling regarding Otoya had been kept deep inside of her and it was finally coming out. Suzu rose up and pulled out a tissue to gently wipe away Shiena's tears.

"It's okay, Kenmochi-san. It's okay to cry. You need to get it out of your chest. It's not good to keep it all inside."

Shiena continued to sob a little and could hear genuine sympathy in Suzu's voice, but also what seemed to be… guilt?

"I think we'll stop here. You deserve some rest. Please, don't beat yourself up about this. Nothing was your fault."

Shiena wished she could believe Suzu. It felt good to hear those words, but deep down, she knew it wasn't the truth.

Everything that happened was because of her- and she deserved it.

* * *

No matter how many times she rolled in her bed, Shiena couldn't fall asleep. Each time she closed her eyes, Jack appeared in her mind. Crimson stains were covering the darkness and this awful smiling mask kept flashing in her head. Horribly mutilated corpses joined this gloomy party with their guts hanging out from their bellies. Those nightmarish images kept assailing her whenever she closed her eyes. Shiena got tired of it and laid on her back, staring at the white ceiling to keep her sanity.

The light started to flicker. For a split second, Shiena was plunged into total darkness. She freaked out and got out of her bed, her heart racing like crazy. The light continued to turn on and off while she was hearing some kind of buzzing. The noise became louder and louder, now resembling some kind of ultrasound. It was unbearable to hear. Shiena put her hands on her ears, hoping that it would bury the sound, but it was in vain.

Something red and sticky started to leak from the wall. This crimson liquid dribbled until it reached the floor and more of it was coming from the walls like an open wound- like the walls were bleeding.

Panicked, Shiena was tempted to scream for help, but she knew it would be in vain. Last time she did, the guards attacked her. So she simply rushed to one of the corners of her cell and crouched on the floor, hiding her face in her arms, shivering and sobbing, hoping it would be over soon.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real…" Shiena kept mumbling to herself like a mantra.

"_Oh, don't fool yourself, you know damn well that it's real._"

Shiena ignored this voice and continued to repeat her mantra until the nightmare was over.

Then suddenly, everything fell silent. Shiena waited for a moment before she fearfully raised her head, to discover with relief that it was over. The light was back to normal and the walls were whiter than ever. She let out a sigh.

"_I'm still here._"

Shiena jolted and looked around. There was no one except her.

"_Right in front of you._"

She saw them. Standing in the middle of the room, dressed in a black hooded robe and wearing the usual drama mask, there was Jack. Shiena remained shocked. How could she be here? Slowly, she rose up while Jack grabbed her mask, and unceremoniously removed it.

Shiena froze on the spot. It wasn't Otoya who was standing in front of her. She must be dreaming- it couldn't be possible.

"_Surprised to see me?_"

Another Shiena was facing her. Well, she did look like her, but her aura was completely different. She was full of confidence, her gaze was empty and her smile so dark. Even her voice sounded so different. So cold and devoid of any humanity. It was so creepy to see herself like that.

"Who… who are you?"

"_Isn't it obvious? I'm you._"

"No… you're not me… you're just like Jackie… you're a psycho!"

"_That I won't deny. But you seem to forget one thing. You're just like Jackie, too. Deep down, you are, you know it._"

Shiena didn't want to hear those words. She tried to cover her ears, but it was pointless. It was like a voice was coming from her own mind.

"_You can't escape the truth anymore._ _I'm your past, your present, and your future._"

"What… what the fuck does that even mean!?"

"_I'm what you nearly became, what you could be, and what you'll turn into._"

"You're wrong! I'm not like Jackie, I'm not a killer! I would never hurt anyone-"

"_Oh, but you already did. You killed three people, remember?_"

Shiena went silent. Was she referencing how she got framed for Jack's murders? But wasn't it only two?

"I… didn't kill anyone."

"_You did. Those two people you were accused of killing, you did kill them. And Yamada Yuu too._"

"It was Jackie!"

"_And yet, they wouldn't have died if it wasn't for you. Jackie killed Yamada to send you a message. She killed that other woman so she could send you her heart. And she killed the last one to frame you. Your obsession for Jackie killed them. You have their blood on your hands._"

When she said those words, Shiena felt something wet and sticky on her hands. She looked down and gasped when she saw it tainted in crimson. Her evil self startled to giggle.

"_Get used to it. You'll get more and more blood on you._"

Shiena felt anger arise in her. She clenched her bloody fists and glanced at her double.

"_Oh, you seem so mad, how scary. What are you gonna do- kill me?_"

Shiena let out a cry of rage and rushed towards her doppelganger, raising her fist. But when she was about to hit her, she simply vanished into thin air.

A gloomy laughter came from behind her. Shiena quickly turned back and was faced once again with her evil double.

Shiena let out a grunt and jumped on her, trying to punch her again, in vain. She had disappeared again.

"Where are you bitch!? Fucking show yourself!"

But all she got as a response is the same dark and condescending laughter. It felt like it was coming all over her. Shiena kept turning around, trying to find where it was coming from.

"_You won't find me because I'm in you!_"

"Shut up! Get out! Get out, GET OUT!"

"Kenmochi-san!? What's going on?"

Shiena froze. She slowly turned back, to discover the nurse staring at her with confusion in her eyes.

"You… you did this to me, don't you!? You're making me think I'm actually crazy!" Shiena shouted furiously as she walked towards the bars. The nurse immediately recoiled, fearful.

"P-Please, Kenmochi-san, you need to calm down-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

"Security!"

In only a few seconds, two guards arrived and entered the cell. Shiena tried to get out as soon as they opened the door, but they immediately caught her.

"Don't touch me! Let me go you bastards! You're part of the conspiracy too, huh?! You're trying to silence me!"

Shiena tried to struggle but it was pointless. The two guards brusquely slammed her against the wall.

"Hold her still," the nurse ordered.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GO!"

Despite the turmoil, Shiena noticed that the nurse was holding a syringe that she was dangerously approaching to her arm.

"No! Don't do that! Get away from me! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The needle pierced her skin. Shiena screamed the loudest she could until she had no longer enough strength to. Her body slowly became limp and everything was blurry. The voices were now inaudible and her eyelids seemed so heavy. She tried to fight back against it, but she couldn't help it.

She closed her eyes and was sent back to total darkness.

* * *

**Things aren't getting better for Shiena, and it seemed the same for Otoya. Will they ever get reunited? And if so, how Shiena will get out of there?**

**It seemed that a lot of people got confused about weather or not Shiena's mother was an hallucination. I left a clue in this chapter. Re-read the scene between Shiena and her mother and Shiena and her evil self. If you find the clue to see if she was an hallucination, let me know, and if you're right, I'll give you a cookie.**

**Stay tuned and seeya next week where the real shit is about to start.**

**ps: In the latest Koakuma no Riddle, Minakata seemed to have confirmed my biggest headcanon regarding Otoya which I've been using in all my OtoShie fic. If you're interested, go check my tumblr, RickyRiddle.**


	23. Withdrawal

**Hey there! Sorry for late update, things got crazy with the coronavirus, I hope you guys are all fine. Don't worry, I'm not sick, but I can't go to work for a while. The last few weeks I was kinda down and this week I just laid in bed all day playing Magia Record. But I'm back on my computer to work on some fics! I hope you'll like this long-awaited chapter.**

* * *

A laughter resounded in the room. But it wasn't a joyful laugh, or neither a bitter one. It just sounded… so sad. A laugh full of grief and sorrow, yet, Shiena couldn't help but smile as she continued to giggle madly.

"What's funny, Kenmochi-san?" Suzu asked calmly yet with some concern in her voice.

Shiena continued to laugh for a moment, trying to stop herself. But it was stronger than her- the laughter was taking over her.

She took a deep breath and finally managed to stop, but she was left gasping. Who would have thought laughter was so exhausting- not that she would know. It wasn't like she had many occasions in her life to laugh.

"Sorry, I was just… thinking about a joke," Shiena said with a nervous giggle.

"Oh? Would you tell me that joke?" Suzu asked, getting her pen ready.

Shiena's smile grew wider, yet her eyes were tearing up.

"My life."

Despite no facial reaction, Suzu's hand froze as she slowly raised her head.

"Your life?"

Shiena chuckled and simply nodded.

"Why are you saying that? Is it related to the incident the other day?" Suzu asked.

"I just see clearly now. My life has been nothing but a big joke- and a really bad one. Let's not fool ourselves. Everyone knows I should never have been born-"

"Please Kenmochi-san, don't say stuff like that…"

"But it's true! I'm nothing more than a waste of space and a useless clump of cells!"

Suzu looked like she didn't know what to add and it only made Shiena laugh bitterly.

"I think it's time for me to confess my crimes- my sin. I'm a murderer. I killed three people."

"Are you… referring to your trial? Wasn't it two?"

"Nope. I killed three people. There was Yamada Yuu too."

"Yamada… Yuu? Who?"

Shiena didn't answer her question and simply burst into a laugh full of madness, as well as regret.

"I killed them all. I'm a bad person. I'm evil. I'm a fucking psycho!"

And she continued to laugh under the concern and even worried gaze of Suzu.

"It's funny how all this time, I've been wrong about something," Shiena said. "All this time I regretted not shooting up the school, but that wasn't the real issue. I'm an abomination that shouldn't have been born- my mother should have fucking swallowed me…"

"Kenmochi-san…!"

Shiena stopped laughing but continued to smile. Yet, tears were now running down her cheeks.

"It's not on my classmates I should have pulled the trigger on. I should have fucking shot myself in the-"

Suzu slammed her fist on the table. Shiena jolted and gazed at her psychiatrist with surprise. Despite her violent gesture, Suzu didn't seem mad. Her eyes were simply full of… regret?

She then reached for something under the table and Shiena heard a soft click. Suzu then rose up and walked toward her, gently cupping Shiena's face as she stared intensely into her eyes.

"Kenmochi-san, you need to listen to me carefully. We don't have much time, and I don't know when they will realize something is up."

Shiena remained confused. She didn't know what was happening. What the hell Suzu was saying? What was going on?!

Suzu sighed before she broke the silence.

"You're not crazy. You didn't kill anyone. You're the victim of a dark machination to silence you and get rid of you. You were seen as a threat to certain people, so they decided to put you out of action."

Shiena couldn't believe her ears. All of this… was a ploy against her? Wait… wasn't that what she had suspected since the beginning? She couldn't quite remember.

"But… I heard voices… they told me… I was a killer…"

"You're not insane. _They_ are making you crazy. Those pills they are feeding you? They aren't harmless antipsychotics. They are powerful hallucinogens and psychotropes. They took time to act so you wouldn't suspect them to be the cause of your delirium. Their effects are only temporary at first, but over time, they will be permanent. If you keep taking those pills, you'll become psychotic and possibly schizophrenic. You need to stop taking them now."

Shiena could barely process everything that was revealed to her. So she had been right… since the beginning! It was a conspiracy! She wasn't crazy!

The door was suddenly slammed open. Guards rushed inside the room, looking like they were ready to fight. Suzu barely had the time to recoil from Shiena.

"Shutou-sensei, is everything okay?" one of the guards asked.

"Y-Yeah, everything is fine. The session is over, you can escort Kenmochi-san back to her room."

The guards immediately seized Shiena and dragged her out of the room while she continued to stare at Suzu, who simply looked worried. But Shiena wasn't. She was even smiling with satisfaction.

Because now she knew that she had always been right.

* * *

Shiena was trying to focus on the darkness in her mind. She tried her best to eliminate any thoughts and keep a total void and emptiness in her head. All there was was total blackness.

"_You won't get rid of me. Meditate all you want- I'll always be a part of you. Deep down, I'll always be in your head._"

Shiena did her best to ignore the voice. She took a deep breath and focused back on the darkness.

It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real.

It was simply a hallucination caused by the drugs.

That was what Shiena kept repeating to herself to bury the sound of the voice in her mind. But then, a true vision of horror flashed before her. Dismembered corpses, guts and organs squished and blood splashed everywhere. Then a pair of red crimson eyes gazed at her like they were staring right through her soul.

Shiena jolted as she opened her eyes and was almost blinded by the overall whiteness. There was no trace of blood or any human parts. Shiena let out a sigh of relief as she stood up and started to walk around in her cell.

"_I'm still here._"

Shiena flinched and then froze. She could almost feel a malevolent entity behind her, lurking in her shadow. There was even a cold breeze against her neck, like a ghost was breathing. She didn't dare to move or even turn back. She simply stared at the white wall and hoped it would go away.

"_Why fight against it so hard? Just accept it. You're tired of this sickening world- of all those human scum who hurt you, right? Fight back! Take your destiny in your hands! It's time for revenge for everyone who wronged us!_"

Those words were oh-so tempting, but Shiena knew it was merely a hallucination. She mustn't take a bite of the forbidden fruit. This was what they wanted\\- the people who locked her here.

Those… demons.

Shiena closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, there was something on the wall. Hanging there was the smiling drama mask that kept haunting her nights.

"_Take it. Be your true self. Enough with this farce and seize what is rightfully yours!_"

Without realizing it, Shiena had started to step towards the wall as she slowly raised her arm.

"_Don't be the pathetic nerd girl you used to be. Be strong, be assertive, be confident! You're no longer a weak and helpless little herbivorous animal- you're a carnivorous predator!_"

Shiena's hand was about to reach the mask, and she could almost brush it with the tip of her fingers.

"_Yes, take it. Take it! Kill them all! It's time for your vendetta! Burn down this corrupted world!_"

Kill… them… all…? Kill… kill… kill… Was she going to… kill? Was she going to become… a killer?

No. She didn't want to. That wasn't her. She didn't have it in her- no, she knew it was just plain wrong.

Shiena grabbed the mask and tossed it away.

"No, I won't! This is not my destiny! I don't want to kill anyone! I want… I want… I want to save people! I want to help people! I want to be useful to others, I want to be worthy, I want to be valuable! Becoming a killer is the last thing I want! I won't become the kind of monster who harms others- I want to stop those type of people!"

Shiena clenched her fist.

"Starting with you…!"

She said that as she turned back, ready to face her dark self. But there was no one behind her.

She was all alone in her cell.

Shiena let out a bitter laugh. Of course she was alone. She always has been. Everything was nothing more than a delusion.

And it was time for her to put an end to this delusion.

"Kenmochi-san? Everything okay?"

Shiena turned back. The nurse was standing in front of the bars, looking concerned. Shiena did her best to give her a comforting smile.

"Yep, everything is fine here!"

"Great. I'm here to give you your meds."

Shiena winced. Everything but that. The nurse opened the small trap and slipped a plate inside, with two pills and a glass of water on it. Shiena felt her heart racing. She knew what was awaiting her if she took those. But it wasn't like she could avoid it, right? If she refused to take them, things would probably get worse for her. But if she takes them, things won't be any better.

She had to find some kind of loophole- a ploy to get away without any injury, both mental and physical.

The nurse was now staring at her, waiting for her to take her pills. Shiena became nervous as she grabbed the meds and water, hesitating.

She then got an idea.

Shiena put the pills in her mouth and quickly hid them under her tongue as she took a good sip of water. Shen then swallowed noisily so the nurse wouldn't suspect anything.

"Good girl," the nurse said with a smile. "I'll be back later for your lunch."

She then walked away, leaving Shiena alone.

The brunette couldn't help but grin. She could still feel the pills safe under her tongue. It worked- she fooled her. Maybe she just might survive this hell after all.

She'll have to get rid of the pills without being seen- she didn't know if there was a hidden camera in her cell.

She then glanced at the toilet and her grin grew wider.

From now on, everything was going to be a piece of cake.

* * *

Otoya didn't know how long she could bear the current situation. She felt like a junkie who didn't have their dose of heroin in weeks. It felt like she was going to go crazy at any moment if she didn't have access to her favourite drug. She needed it so badly, but she was forced in a temporary detox until her arm was healed.

Otoya sighed as she looked down.

She desperately needed to come.

But no matter how roughly she played with herself, how furiously she masturbated, no matter the size of what she stuck in herself, she couldn't reach her climax.

She needed the sweet release of a woman's body- her warm blood splashing against her bare skin, the sweet yet salty smell, and the warmth of her insides…

Gosh, just thinking about it made her wet. She just wanted to come so badly. But she knew it was impossible. She needed to kill, and unfortunately, with her current injury, she couldn't be sent on a mission. And... if she killed without her group's permission, well, let's just say that a broken arm would be the least of her worries.

She sighed again as she sat down in front of her computer. No matter how many nerdy girls she fucked, she couldn't be satisfied. She needed to kill, she…

She needed Shiena.

Instinctively, her hand slowly reached for her crotch. She knew it would be a fruitless attempt, but she still needed it so much. She slipped under her panties and let out a gasp when she felt her wet spot. It was time for some disappointing pleasure that would lead to nothing.

Beep.

Otoya stopped and raised her head, discovering that she got a notification on her phone. She was tempted to ignore it and just continue playing with her pearl, but she was kind of curious to see who was messaging her.

Kamiya Ryou. Or, more specifically, Suzu's alternate account.

"_Takechi-san, can we call? I have something important to tell you. It's about Kenmochi-san._"

Immediately, Otoya stirred. It was about Shiena? What could it be? She had to know.

She clicked the phone icon and put on her earphones.

"Suzu-san, no time no see. What's up?" Otoya asked nonchalantly.

"Are you aware of what happened to Kenmochi-san?" Suzu immediately asked.

"Hm? You mean how she was accused of my murders and declared insane?"

"Yeah, that. She's locked in an asylum, and… the group sent me to keep an eye on her."

Otoya remained silent for a moment. So Shiena was in an asylum. She highly doubted that she was really insane, so she knew there was something suspicious behind all of this. And it seemed that Suzu might have confirmed her doubts.

"Does Black Guild have something to do with what happened to Shiena?" Otoya asked.

"Yes. They thought she was a threat to them so they decided to get rid of her."

"By framing her for my murders and sending her to an asylum? Wouldn't it have been more simple to just kill her?"

"Yes, but riskier. If a member of AKA got suddenly murdered, that would look suspicious. And that one of them ended up being an insane killer sure isn't good for their reputation."

"I see… How is Shiena?"

"I don't think she'll be able to bear being there for long. She's at risk of ending up crazy for real, or even worse- die. She seems to think that you're the one who framed her."

"Oh…"

So all this time, Shiena thought she was the one who framed her? Did she grow to resent her? To hate her? Otoya wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Not that it really mattered. Shiena discovered her secret, so perhaps it was for the best after all.

"Why are you telling me that? What do you expect from me?"

"I want you to help me save Kenmochi-san. I can't because I'm part of the ploy, but you aren't. You are free to intervene."

"And why would I do that?" Otoya asked coldly, dropping her mask.

"Because you love her. She's the girl you told me about, right? And she loves you too. Even if she thinks you did this to her, she still loves you. You might not think you can love, but I do. Maybe not like her, not like me, but it's love regardless! So please, save her. I can't stand to see her suffer and be complicit in it."

Otoya was surprised by those words. So Shiena loved her, and she still did. Perhaps there was a chance between them after all. She was still a risk for her and her being in an asylum benefited her more, but… she did miss her. And she had a feeling Shiena wouldn't be a threat to her. If she truly loved her then… it would be easy to manipulate her to keep her silent.

A grin appeared on Otoya's lips.

"Fine, I'll help you. Not that I know how I'm supposed to get her out from an asylum."

"I might have something that could help you."

As she said that, Suzu sent a couple of files in the chat. Otoya opened them and was surprised by their contents, quickly skimming through them. Her smile then grew wider.

"Oh, this isn't good. This is really bad. Corruption sure is ugly," Otoya said with a giggle.

"I believe this will be enough for you to get her out. Legally."

"Yeah, it should be. Thanks, I'll see what I can do. But first, I would have a little favour to ask of you."

"I have a bad feeling about that, but go ahead."

Otoya was flinching with excitement at the idea of being reunited with her sweet and dear Shiena.

"I wanna see Shiena-chan~"

* * *

Shiena's head was in excruciating pain.

And it wasn't because of her recent skull fracture. She felt painful spasms in her head, almost like it was about to explode.

She couldn't help but shiver, even if she was neither cold or afraid, and her body was dripping in sweat.

Shiena knew enough about the criminal world to understand what was happening to her.

Withdrawal symptoms.

It had to be expected. It had been several days since she stopped taking the drugs they were feeding her. Even if in her mind she was repulsed by those pills, her body was craving them oh-so desperately. She felt like a pathetic junkie out of cocaine. But she knew that things could only get better. She had to be strong and not give up, and eventually, the withdrawal would be over. She'll be clear and sane soon. And then she'll somehow find a way to get out of here.

This was her only hope.

Shiena ran a hand through her hair. Her hair was so wet that her bangs stuck on her head and remained slicked back. It was obvious that she was suffering from withdrawal syndrome. Shiena's heart started to race with panic. If they understood that she wasn't taking her pills anyone, who knows what they would do to her- she might really get killed.

She heard footsteps approaching the cell. Shit, was she about to get caught? No, she refused to give up so easily- there must be a way to get away with this.

She suddenly got an idea and immediately got on the floor and started doing push-ups. Her body was already so exhausted and she had never been quite the athletic type, but she still did her best.

"Kenmochi-san? What are you doing?"

Shiena recognized the nurse's voice. She didn't raise her head and continued to do push-ups despite the pain in her arms.

"I'm… exercising," Shiena replied. "You know, a healthy mind in a healthy body- and apparently it's good against demonic possessions."

The nurse didn't reply anything to that. Shiena did a few more push-ups before she was too exhausted and just collapsed to the floor.

"Don't overwork yourself," the nurse softly suggested to her. "It's time for your meds."

Shiena's heart skipped a beat. There she was again. Getting an attempt-drugging against her. Nervously, she stood up, knowing what she had to do. Obediently, she took the pills and put them in her mouth before she drank the water, swallowing it. The nurse smiled as she recoiled.

"I'll be back later for dinner. Take it easy with the exercises."

"I will, thanks."

The nurse walked away. The pills were still under Shiena's tongue. She was tempted to swallow them. Her heart was hurting so much, she was craving those pills.

But she had to resist, otherwise, all her hard work, sacrifices and pain would be in vain. She had to be brave and stronger than them- she had to show those who tried to destroy her that she won't collapse. She refused to play along in their game.

She waited a couple of minutes, doing some other exercising, before nonchalantly heading for the toilet to grab some toilet paper. She pretended to sneeze and discreetly spat the pills in the tissue, before throwing it in the toilet and flushing.

Sayonara to more dangerous pills that wouldn't end up in her system and fuck up with her brain.

"Hello, Shiena-chan."

Shiena froze when she heard that voice. She knew that voice damn well. It was haunting her the night since the day she had been arrested. This voice she loathed so much and gave her the chills, yet also brought some warm feelings into her chest. A lukewarm sensation.

She didn't dare to turn back and closed her eyes, mumbling to herself.

"That's not real, that's not real, that's not real..."

"Oy, Shiena-chan! Are you deaf? I'm right here! Hey! Look at me!"

"Not real, not real, not real-"

"LOOK AT ME!"

Shiena flinched. The voice sounded completely different. Cold and angry, but despite the shouting, it sounded… controlled?

"I took the time to come visit you, the least you could do is look at me," she said coldly.

Shiena shivered. Was she… really there? It didn't sound like a hallucination, nor did she have any for days. Could she… really be there? It seemed impossible.

The brunette gulped. Her muscles became stiff as she slowly turned back, not so ready to face her biggest nightmare yet also her wildest dream.

She was welcomed by Otoya's sweet and warmest smile, dressed as a nurse. At that sight, Shiena's heart started to race- both from fear and excitement.

"O-Otoya…?"

It was really her. For a moment Shiena forgot the truth about her and what she did to her. All she could see was a dear friend whom she loved and trusted, before she remembered that this so-called "friend" deceived her, manipulated her, toyed with her and betrayed her. At that thought, Shiena clenched her fist with resentment.

"Otoya…!"

Otoya smirked as she looked Shiena up and down.

"Wow, you look pretty terrible right now. Just like a _madwoman_."

Shiena clenched her teeth at that taunt.

"You did this to me, didn't you!?" Shiena accused furiously.

"Oh? Did what, Shiena-chan?" Otoya asked innocently.

"You fucking framed me for your murders and got me locked up here!"

"Is that really what you think? Why would I have done such a thing?"

"Don't take me for a fool! I discovered your secret so you wanted to get rid of me! And your assassin group probably asked you to!"

Otoya went stoic for a moment before a sinister smile marked her face.

"Oh, so you do know the truth about me- and even more. Bad girl. You weren't supposed to discover that. Perhaps you staying here really is in my best interest after all…"

Otoya then let out a soft yet arrogant chuckle.

"But what one would do for love. Here I am, against logic and reason, to save my princess from the castle."

"... Love? You… you call that love!? This is not love! A psychopath like you can't love!"

Otoya turned emotionless. She didn't look hurt, more… disappointed?

"I thought you from all people would be more open-minded. I may not experience love the same way as you do, but it doesn't mean it isn't love. My love isn't inferior to yours. Stop seeing the world through your neurotypical eyes."

Was Otoya… really scolding her? For being closed-minded? What the hell. Was she stuck in an upside-down world or something? Then, Otoya burst into laughter.

"As if I cared! Anyway, I'm not the one who framed you. I actually had no idea you got framed up until recently."

"Liar! All you do is lie! You've been lying to me since the beginning…!"

"I'm telling the truth right now. Believe me or not, I don't care. But trust me on that: I'll get you out of here, I promise."

"... Why? Why should I trust you?" Shiena asked with some hope, but also contempt.

Otoya giggled as she got closer to the bars and suddenly grabbed them, staring at Shiena with insanity in her turquoise eyes.

"Because I'm your salvation!" Otoya exclaimed.

Shiena wasn't expecting to hear that. She instinctively recoiled, frightened and worried.

"What… what do you mean?"

Otoya now had a twisted smile on her face.

"Because without me, you're miserable. I'm the one who brings happiness into your life, who gives you the love and recognition you deserve! No one can understand you as I do- only I can truly love you! I'll take care of you and treat you the way you deserve- like the precious and delicate flower you are. You are worthy only when you are with me- I'm the one who gives you value. Without me, you'd just be the same nobody I met for the first time at my shop!"

Those words felt like a stab in the heart. Shiena even felt her eyes tearing up. She wanted to protest, but deep down, she knew everything Otoya said was the absolute truth. she truly was miserable before meeting her. Nobody showed her love like Otoya did, nobody made her feel valued like her. And somehow, being compared to a flower… did feel good.

"How… how are you going to get me out of here?" Shiena asked weakly.

"I can't tell you for now, in case we're being spied on. You see, I ain't supposed to be here. Let's say that a good friend of mine gave me access to this place. I may look sexy as hell in this uniform, but the staff will probably notice that there's an extra nurse here eventually. I just wanted to see you before rolling the dice. I missed you, you know. There wasn't a day where I didn't think about you."

Shiena didn't want to hear those words- those words that were making her love Otoya. She knew how horrible she was, the true Otoya behind her mask, yet… she couldn't stop her heart from loving her.

"Please… get me out of here… I can't bear it anymore!" Shiena begged tearfully.

Otoya grinned with satisfaction.

"Anything for you, my dear Shiena-chan."

* * *

When Shiena woke up, she had the unpleasant surprise of being welcomed by the stern and even hostile gaze of her old nurse. But it was when she noticed the two guards with her that Shiena started to be worried- and quite frankly, afraid.

"What… what do you want?" Shiena stuttered nervously.

The nurse stayed silent for a moment, simply staring at her so coldly as she crossed her arms.

"I know what you did, Kenmochi," she finally said in such a dark voice.

Shiena felt her heart stop for a moment. What did she mean by that? It could have so many meanings- which would all be bad omens for Shiena. She rose up from bed, but as soon as she moved, the guards looked ready to jump on her at any moment.

"I… I didn't do anything wrong…!" Shiena tried to protest with a lack of assurance.

"You really thought we wouldn't notice? You stopped taking your meds, don't you?"

Fuck. Shiena's heart started to beat like crazy. This was the last thing she wanted them to know. Things couldn't get any worse- or any better. She was simply in the worst-case scenario possible.

Shiena gulped and dared to stare back at the nurse, feeling like she had nothing to lose anymore. So as they say, better die standing than live on her knees.

"Those were not antipsychotics- you were feeding me drugs, weren't you? Drugs to make me hallucinate!"

The nurse looked shocked for a moment before her expression turned gloomy and quite aggressive.

"You're delusional. Typical paranoiac behaviours, thinking that your own meds are bad-"

"Don't fucking treat me as if I was stupid! I know the truth! You're all just trying to silence me and make me crazy!"

The nurse clenched her fist and then glanced at both guards, before she looked back at Shiena with a sinister smile.

"You're nuts. If you don't want to behave and take your meds, I regret that we'll have to get more drastic with you. Seize her!"

At those words, the guards rushed towards Shiena, who didn't even have the time to move before they grabbed her arms and pinned her to the bed. Shiena tried to struggle, in vain. She saw the nurse take out a flask and drop two pills in her hand. When she saw those, Shiena felt chills all over her body. She was almost done with the withdrawal syndrome and didn't have any hallucinations for a while, it was out of the question that she would let all of her hard work go in vain.

"No… not that…. GET AWAY FROM ME!" Shiena yelled desperately.

The nurse tried to force her mouth open and put the pills inside, but Shiena instinctively reacted by kicking her the hardest she could. The nurse fell backward and the guards released Shiena, rushing towards her with concern.

Shiena took advantage of it and rose up, rushing towards the door, hoping it was unlocked.

But she was out of luck. She was violently grabbed from behind and shoved on the floor. Before she could stand up or move away, she was suddenly kicked multiple times. Shiena instinctively tried to cover her head with her arms, a futile attempt to protect herself from the repetitive assault.

A brutal hit on her stomach nearly made her throw up and she started to gasp and cough in pain, but it didn't stop the guards from beating her. She could almost feel blood coming from her throat and she could feel her consciousness slowly slipping away as she hopelessly accepted her fate.

"Stop what you are doing!" thundered a female voice.

Then, the suffering finally stopped. But Shiena remained semi-conscious- all the noises around her sounded so far away.

"Who the hell are you!?" the nurse exclaimed.

Shiena managed to look up, but everything was so blurry. All she could perceive was a person standing in front of the bars- a woman, wearing a suit.

"I'm Kenmochi-san's new lawyer. I'm here to announce to you that my client was cleared of all charges against her and has to be freed immediately."

And it was with tearful joy that Shiena finally sank into oblivion.

* * *

**Finally, we are done with the asylum arc! Things can all go back to normal... right?**

**How do you think Shiena got out of the asylum? What Otoya do? Please tell me about your theories!**

**While waiting for the next chapter, please stay safe, don't go outside if it's not necessary and wash your hands regularly. **


	24. Oxymoron

**Hello everyone! I'm back, sorry for the wait. How is it in your country? I'm in quarantine so it leaves me more time to work on my fics (if I wasn't playing magireco all day in my bed). **

**warning: implied sex**

* * *

After the white hell she had been through, Shiena was once again thrown into the colourful world. Yet, it felt like there was some kind of filter in front of her eyes that made everything look more dull, even… dark.

Then suddenly, dozens of lights flashed in her face, pulling her out of the darkness. Journalists and other media raptors were all gathered around her like hungry vultures. Two cops were escorting her through the mod of excited reporters. Multiple flashes continued to bombard her as the journalists all tried to reach her with their mike.

"Kenmochi-san, tell us about your experience in the asylum."

"Is it true that the police used you as a scapegoat to justify their incapacity to catch the killer?"

"Did you actually meet Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century?"

"How did it feel to have everyone turning their backs on your and wrongly accusing you to be a murderer?"

"How did you get those injuries? Did the staff mistreat you?"

Shiena's mind was too foggy to even think of answers to any of those questions. Not that she wanted to anyway. She just wanted to get far away from that nightmare and never come back. The police successfully cleared a path through the crowd of nosey journalists and safely escorted the freed woman to their car. Shiena sat inside the vehicle and let out a deep sigh of relief. Everything was finally over. The nightmare was over and she would be able to go back home and everything would be back to normal.

Right?

As if.

After what she experienced, there was no way she could ever go back to being the person she used to be. Not now that she knew the truth about this twisted world and what was lurking in the shadows. That evil assassin organization that framed her, and more importantly, Otoya who was still running free.

Shiena didn't want to think about all of that crap right now. She was tired, exhausted, and quite frankly, pretty done with everything. She just wanted to get home, take a long and nice warm bath, drink a coffee, eat chips, and then finally meet her soft and comfy bed again and sleep for at least a week.

She closed her eyes and the car started to move and her body became more and more limp. All the tension she has been accumulating for weeks was finally released as she was about to taste freedom again. She had no idea how it was possible, and she didn't care. She was just glad she could finally go back home.

The car continued to move and, rocked by the soft whirring of the engine, Shiena finally slipped into darkness, for once falling asleep peacefully after those weeks of pure horror.

* * *

_A sudden pain assailed her. Nothing too serious, it felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite. But then, there was more. One was bearable, but a hundred of them, not so much. It felt like every inch of her skin was being strung, as if she was attacked by a swarm of bees. Then it was followed by a powerful shock that felt like she had been struck by lighting. The electricity rushed through her whole body and left her in excruciating pain. Then her head awfully hurt, like it was being crushed, before it finally exploded as the rest of her body burned down to ashes._

Shiena tried to scream the loudest she could but it was as if she choked on her own voice. She was left gasping and coughing as her heart beated like crazy as if it was about to escape her chest. Her head was spinning and she had no idea where she was or even about the most recent events.

It then slowly came back to her. She had been framed of murder, accused of insanity and thrown in an asylum.

Frightened that she might still be there, Shiena frantically looked around, scared that she might discover she was still stuck in this white hell and sighed with relief when she saw colours around her. She wasn't in the asylum anymore, she went back home- she was safe and sound in her bedroom.

Shiena was panting heavily, feeling like she might lose oxygen. Her body was all warm and sweating and her head was painfully pulsating. The pain was such that her eyes started to tear up.

She needed some aspirin.

She got up from her bed and headed for the bathroom. She turned off the light and jolted when she realized the room was almost entirely white. Flashes of the asylum cell came back to her mind as she started to shiver.

"I'm not there anymore, I'm not there anymore, I'm not there anymore," Shiena mumbled to herself to calm down. "This is my home, this is just my bathroom…"

She took a deep breath as she opened the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of pain killer. She let two of them fall into her hand, but before she could take them, her body froze.

Two white pills. Just like the drugs they were feeding her.

Shiena instantly felt nauseous. She tried to force her hand to reach her mouth, but it was trembling too much. Her breathing became more jerky and her headache became more intense. As she was about to put the pills in her mouth, Shiena felt blood rushing to her head and violently threw them on the wall.

"FUCK!"

She panted for a moment before she broke down in tears. She couldn't even take the only thing that could make her feel better. She was in such pain, she didn't think she could bear with it any longer.

She then glanced at the shower and got an idea. She removed her pajamas and glanced at herself in the mirror. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises due to her rough treatment at the asylum, but nothing too serious. The only scar that may remain was the one on her forehead.

Shiena got in the shower and let the water stream down her bruised body. She shivered when the cold water touched her skin- it was really uncomfortable. But, the coldness numbed her sore body and helped appease the pain.

She stayed in the cold shower until the pain dropped to a bearable level. Then Shiena got out, her entire body shivering from the cold. She quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it to warm up. She returned to her room and curled up on her bed, still shivering, as she started to cry, knowing that there was no way she could go back to normal and that even if she might have escaped the asylum, her life wouldn't become better.

It never did anyway.

* * *

Ding dong.

Shiena couldn't help but jolt. She knew it was nothing more than the doorbell. But with everything that had happened to her, she was more than nervous about even the smallest thing, including the sound of a harmless device.

The doorbell might be harmless, but perhaps not the person who triggered it. Who could that be anyway? Who would randomly ring at her door? Nobody visited her since she left the asylum, so why now…

Then, a doubt entered Shiena's mind, a frightening possibility.

It could be Jackie. Or any other assassin from the organization, sent to finish the job. How cruel fate would be if it was the case. She just escaped this white hell to be sent to literal hell.

Ding dong, ding dong.

Shiena's body became tense and she clenched her fist. Her heart raced and all her senses were alerted in case of a sudden attack. Not that she would have many chances against an assassin. She just hoped that she would at least be killed quickly and painlessly.

However, that might not be the case if it turned out to be Jackie behind that door, waiting for her to open so she could jump on her like the predator she was.

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.

Shiena started to shiver, but she refused to leave the couch. She simply refused to go meet her death. If whoever was behind that door wanted to kill her, they would have to come to her.

"Shiena-san? Are you there?"

Shiena's eyes widened in surprise. This voice, could it be…

"... Ichinose?"

"Shiena-san, you're there! Can you open the door please?"

Shiena's muscles relaxed a little bit. It was only Haru, sweet, innocent yet annoying, Haru. Shiena got up and slowly walked towards the door, her legs feeling abnormally weak, and opened it.

Standing in the doorframe was Haru, her usual bright and cheery smile on her face. It had been a while since Shiena saw her. Not so long ago she would have been extremely annoyed to see her coworker arriving unannounced, but after the hell she went through, it was comforting to see a familiar face. After all, Haru was the only one she could call a friend, the only one who seemed to have always believed in her innocence.

"Ichinose… hey…"

"Shiena-san? You look quite pale. Are you okay?"

Probably as pale as her previous cell. So Haru had no idea the horror she went through, and perhaps it was better this way. She didn't want to burden her with the awful truth.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a little bit tired," Shiena replied, forcing herself to smile. "Wanna come in?"

Haru smiled back as she stepped inside Shiena's apartment. The brunette would have preferred to remain alone, but perhaps some friendly company could ease her mind.

"Would you like some coffee?" Shiena proposed.

"Ah, no, I'm fine, thanks."

Haru sat down on the couch and they both remained silent. Shiena struggled to find anything to say. It had been quite a while since she had any sort of normal conversation, not that she ever was good at talking to begin with.

"Shiena-san… I'm sorry for what happened to you. I wished I could have done something to help you…"

"It's fine, Ichinose. The fact you believed in me is well enough. It doesn't matter anymore, given that I have been freed and cleared-"

"But still, it's weird, isn't it? That you got framed for Jackie's murders. All that evidence proving your innocence- why were none of those brought up in your trial? What kind of corruption is that? Did Jackie really have that kind of power?"

Shiena really hoped Haru wouldn't ask those questions. She really didn't need to know. She was better off not knowing, for her own safety.

"Who knows? Maybe Jackie is someone with a lot of influence," Shiena replied.

"I can't believe this is only the work of one person. There must be some kind of group behind this-"

"Stop!"

Haru flinched when Shiena raised her voice. Shiena realized that she couldn't let herself be overtaken by her emotions and forced herself to let out an arrogant chuckle.

"Really? Don't tell me you think it's all part of some conspiracy. Come on, be realistic. Who would put so much effort to get rid of poor little insignificant me?"

"But Shiena-san, you can't deny that all of this is strange-"

"Stop, Ichinose."

Shiena had spoken with a soft yet cold voice. Haru looked even more unnerved to see Shiena like that than shouting. All traces of emotions had left Shiena's face.

"Don't get involved, Ichinose. Ignorance is a bliss. I don't want you to suffer the same fate as me. You probably won't be as lucky as me… if I can truly call that luck… I'm the unluckiest of them all after all…"

"I…. I don't get it, Shiena-san!" Haru said as she rose up. "What's wrong? Did… did something happen to you in the asylum?"

At that question, Shiena let out a bitter giggle. Ah, poor, sweet, innocent… and quite naive, Haru. As if someone like her could handle the truth.

"Let's just say I discovered that there was a colour darker than black- and I would never expect it to be white."

"I… I don't understand…"

"And it's better this way," Shiena said as she walked towards the door and opened it. "Thanks for the visit, Ichinose, but I'm tired now and I would like to rest."

Haru looked like she was hesitating, her eyes full of worries, as she finally gave up and headed for the door.

"Please, take care of yourself, Shiena-san…"

"Same for you, Ichinose. Stick to AKA and don't make the same mistake as me."

Before Haru could ask anything, Shiena closed the door, feeling a heavy burden in her shoulders to keep such a secret to herself.

But she knew it was for the best.

* * *

No matter how much she tried to read, Shiena was simply not in the mood. She sighed as she put down her book and stretched back to sit on the couch. There was nothing that could distract her enough from her tormented thoughts and the burden of her memory. The truth was eating her from the inside and she had no one with whom to talk about it to. She wished she could just forget about everything that happened to her- everything she learned. But unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. She had to be forced to carry this burden alone- forever.

Knock, knock, knock.

Shiena flinched. Another visitor? Who could it be? Was it Haru who came back for more explanations?

The brunette sighed at that thought. She didn't think she would have the strength to lie to her face a second time, so she decided to simply ignore her.

Knock knock knock!

The knocking was becoming more insistent, which kind of worried Shiena. Could Haru be that persistent? Now that she thought about it, didn't Haru ring the doorbell last time she visited her?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Shiena jolted. Was it really Haru? And if not, then who was it? Shiena was starting to be really scared, but also quite frustrated.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

That was enough. Shiena lost her temper and rushed towards the door, ready to tell whoever was behind to get the fuck out.

Then, the knocking suddenly stopped. Shiena froze for a moment when she saw the handle slowly turning, followed by a 'click' as if it got unlocked.

Then the door slammed open. Shiena remained paralyzed, taken by surprise. When she saw who was in the doorframe, she couldn't believe her eyes. But at the same time, she felt dumb to not have expected her to pay her a visit.

"Hello, Shiena-chan. Long time no see."

Takechi Otoya- which she for months knew as Jackie, was standing in the doorframe, looking at her with such a sweet yet seductive smile- and a predatory gaze in her beautiful eyes.

"... O-O...Otoya…"

Otoya let out a soft chuckle as she dropped a bag on the floor.

"I came to bring back your stuff you left at my house. Aren't I nice?"

Shiena wanted to reply, but her entire body was frozen. She was utterly terrified to see the serial killer step inside her apartment. The infamous Jack the Ripper of the 21st century was here, and she knew that Shiena was aware of her real identity. A cruel and sadistic psychopathic murderer was in her apartment, a person known to torture and kill women. Shiena's heart was beating so hard and her legs started to shiver, yet her body refused to move.

"Shiena-chan? Are you going to stay silent? I'm here, your prince charming on a white horse, ready to receive my reward from my princess for saving her."

Shiena didn't answer anything to that. When she saw Otoya slowly walking towards her, Shiena instinctively started to recoil.

"N...No… stay away from me! Don't come any closer!" Shiena shouted.

"Hm? What's wrong, Shiena-chan? It's me, Otoya. Don't you love me?"

Shiena was trembling so much, but she managed to clench her fist and glare at Otoya despite the terror.

"W...Who… would… who would love a fucking psychopath like you!?" Shiena yelled.

Otoya's expression became blank and Shiena didn't lose any more time. She immediately rushed towards her bedroom and closed the door, before locking it. It didn't take much time for Otoya to knock on the door.

"Shiena-chan! Come on, open the door. I didn't come to hurt you, I swear! I would never! I love you so much!"

Shiena's heart was beating even faster. Deep down, she wanted to believe Otoya, but she knew she was probably lying. Her heart wanted to believe her so badly, but her brain knew better.

The knocking started to become more violent.

"Shiena, open the fucking door! Open it, or else…"

Shiena started to shiver, but she didn't falter. No matter what, she wouldn't fall for Otoya's manipulation and threat. For once, she'd be stronger than her.

"Well, you asked for it."

The knocking suddenly stopped. For a split second, Shiena dared to hope that perhaps, Otoya would go away.

She should have known that her life was and will be nothing more than despair.

The handle started to move and Shiena heard a click. How could she forget. Her front door was also locked yet Otoya managed to come inside.

She knew how to pick locks.

This time, the door opened slowly, accompanied by an unsettling creak. Shiena wanted to run, but she knew there was no escape.

The wolf found her and there was no way out.

Otoya stepped inside the room, a smile on her face, but her eyes looked so empty and lifeless. Shiena was paralyzed by fear as she felt her eyes becoming teary.

"Shiena-chan, I'm here. That wasn't nice of you, ya know, what you told me… it really hurt my feelings."

Otoya's smile then disappeared, leaving a stoic and quite gloomy expression on her face.

"After everything I did for you… you ungrateful brat. It cost me a lot, you know, hiring that lawyer for you. She was one of the best in Japan, and she never lost any cases in her entire career. I spent so much money on you, I risked my life for you, and this is how you thank me? Bad girl, you're a bad girl Shiena. And you know what happens to bad girls?"

A grin that sent chills in Shiena's spine appeared on Otoya's lips.

"They get punished."

Tears rolled down Shiena's cheek as she started to recoil, but it was pointless- she ended up cornered. Otoya walked towards her, with this devilish smirk on her face as Shiena started to feel death about to pick up her soul.

"No… no please… don't… don't hurt me… I'm sorry-"

Otoya brusquely pinned her against the wall. Before Shiena could say anything more, Otoya pressed her lips against hers and gagged her with her tongue. The kiss was so passionate yet aggressive, like she was a hungry beast who was starving for months. Shiena tried to fight back but Otoya was stronger than her. Her tongue was assaulting hers in her mouth, and she could feel Otoya's knee dangerously approaching her center…

No, that wouldn't happen. Shiena wouldn't let Otoya do as she pleased with her, not anymore. She wouldn't play her game anymore- she wasn't her toy!

Without hesitation, Shiena bit Otoya's tongue. Her mouth was immediately filled with a metallic and salty taste. Otoya let out a grunt and recoiled, staring at Shiena with shock, who turned into pure fury.

"You little…!"

Shiena lost all her courage. She never saw Otoya so frightening- or anyone that scary. She didn't only remove her mask- she was showing her her true face, the one of a bloodthirsty monster.

Shiena's chest started to hurt as if she was about to have a heart attack and it was hard to breath. Her legs became limp and she fell, pressing herself against the wall. Tears flew more and more on her face as she gasped and panted painfully, her hands clutching near her chest.

"Shiena."

The voice was so cold and dark, devoid of any humanity or sympathy. It was hard to believe that it belonged to a human. Fearfully, Shiena raised her head, and was surprised by what she saw.

Otoya looked so worried and even remorseful.

"I'm sorry, Shiena-chan. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't want to scare you like that. I swear, I will never hurt you. I love you so much- all I want is to take care of you. I realize that even if I saved you from the asylum, it didn't excuse my past behaviour towards you. I truly am sorry. Do you think you could find the strength to forgive me? I swear, for you I would change. This is the proof of how much I love you and how much you matter to me. But I would understand if you can't…"

Shiena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lies, those were just lies. Her brain knew it perfectly well.

But her heart didn't know better.

Slowly, Shiena rose up. Her mind was screaming her to run away, but it got muffled by her heart, by her desires. She was so terrified, her check hurt so much, she was desperate for any comfort and craving to feel the warmth of a beautiful woman.

Even if it was from the very person who put her in such a state to begin with.

A soft and sweet smile appeared on Otoya's lips as Shiena walked towards her. She hugged the younger girl gently, softly stroking her back, before she kissed her again, but this time, it was a much sweeter kiss.

Shiena offered no resistance, on the contrary, she welcomed Otoya's tongue in her mouth as if it was the most delicious sweet. She didn't even protest or try to fight back when she felt Otoya's hands slipping under her shirts, starting to unbutton it as she led her to bed. She ended up lying down, straddled by the very serial killer she was so obsessed with, as if it was a dream coming true. Or a nightmare. A sweet nightmare.

Otoya kissed her again as her hand started to go lower and lower, and for the first time since she had been freed, Shiena's mind had been cleared from all the burdens that were weighing on her.

* * *

**After 24 chapters, they finally fucked. How do you think their relationship will evolve?**


	25. Insatiable Desires

**Warning: Implied sex, graphic depiction of self-harm, mention of non-con.**

* * *

There was a sweet scent when Shiena woke up. She felt abnormally sweaty yet, she was so comfortably warm all snuggled up in her bed. She also felt something wet and sticky on one of her thighs. And that she was naked.

"Good morning, Shiena-chan ~"

Shiena immediately jolted and turned back, to discover with horror- but also desire, that Otoya was sharing a bed with her. Equally naked.

"O-Otoya!?"

Lying there seductively was the infamous Jack the Ripper of the 21st century, smiling in a rather charming way. If she had woken up beside any other beautiful woman, Shiena would have been thrilled (but let's face it- it would never happen), but certainly not a psychopathic one.

Shiena's first instinct was to get the hell out of there. But as she was about to jump out of her bed, Otoya was faster and suddenly pinned her against the mattress. Shiena tried to struggle, in vain. She couldn't do anything against the serial killer's strength. She was rightfully terrified, yet also strangely… aroused? To feel Otoya's bare breasts pressing against hers was simply irresistible, and she was still so goddamn gorgeous.

Yet she was also a sadistic and remorseless murderer.

"Aww, why are you being so rude, Shiena-chan? Treating me like a mere one night stand like that… After all the orgasms I so gracefully gave you. Ungrateful as usual, huh? I guess I'll really have to punish you after all."

Shiena felt her heart skip a beat. Before she could say anything or even try to struggle again, Otoya slipped a pair of scissors right under her throat. This time, Shiena almost felt like her heart had stopped, paralyzed with fear at the sight of this blade that could very likely end her life.

"Now, now, Shiena-chan," Otoya said softly as she delicately stroked Shiena's cheek. "What am I going to do to you, I wonder…? You see, I'm not used to waking up next to a still breathing girl. I'm more into 'rough play', if you know what I mean, and unfortunately, the poor girls don't survive my kink. But, I guess you were satisfying enough for me that I didn't need to rip you open. Don't you feel honoured? You're the first living woman who managed to make me come. I won't lie, it was far from my biggest orgasm, but still, it's a first time for me. And it's literally your first time for you, right?"

Tears started to bead from Shiena's eyes upon this realization. She did indeed have sex with Otoya, from her own free will. This thought alone terrified Shiena, not only because it was with Otoya, but because… it didn't make her feel disgusted. On the contrary, she would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

Yet, she didn't remember making Otoya come. She was pretty sure she would have remembered such a crucial detail. Slowly, the events of last night came back to her.

At some point, after all the climaxes she went through, she ended up half-conscious. She vaguely remembered Otoya, who seemed to have been… humping her leg? Yes, Otoya… used her thigh to masturbate. For so long Otoya viewed her as a toy, so it seemed that she upgraded her to a sex-toy. Even if Shiena thought it was degrading, part of her… didn't really mind, to be honest.

Then Otoya pressed the blade against Shiena's throat without cutting her skin, but she was fearing that it might happen sooner or later. Psychopaths tend to be unpredictable and rarely do they change their minds when they make a decision.

"We still haven't resolved this dilemma, have we, Shiena-chan? What am I gonna do with you… hm… any suggestions? I feel like it's a two person decision, would you agree?"

"P-Please… O-Otoya… don't kill me. I'm begging you- I will do anything you want but just don't hurt me!"

"Ah… those are truly the typical words every single woman told me. And it didn't stop me. So why do you think it would work for you, hm?"

Shiena knew it was pointless to beg. She can't change the mind of a psychopath. Especially not a sadistic and violent one like Otoya. It seemed more reasonable to just accept her death.

"No… I already know… it wouldn't work. You never change your mind, don't you? You never had any second thoughts in your entire life. If you want something, you'll do anything you can to get it. You're not the type to give up easily nor are you worried about the consequences. Everything is yours for the taking and no one else gets a word to say in that. Am I right?"

Otoya remained stoic for a moment before she let out a chuckle.

"As usual, Shiena-chan truly is the one who understands me the best. It's almost frightening yet… exciting. But, now that you realized that, you know there's nothing you can do to stop me. So what will be your next move, I wonder?"

Shiena knew it was over. She remembered Hitsugi's words: "Icarus flew too close from the sun and his wax wings melted, and he ended up drowning in the ocean."

Otoya was the sun she flew too close to, and now, she got burned. And will die.

"I-If… you have… to kill me… could you do it… quick and painlessly? You know, as… gratitude, for making you come. You didn't need to torture me to have sexual pleasure with me, so it's the least you could do for me… no?"

"Hm… interesting. I don't really see what forces me to repay you, but it's true that you have been a fun adversary for me, so I could grace you with mercy. On the other hand…"

Otoya got closer to Shiena, who could now feel her warm breath on her neck as she whispered in her ear.

"I must admit, a living woman who can give me sexual pleasure is such a rarity. Even more, you're unique, and that makes you valuable and precious to me. It kinda feels like a shame to just kill you like you were a mere rotten flower, don't you think?"

Was Otoya… giving her some hope to survive? Was it real, or only a ploy to kill her more cruelly? Shiena couldn't know, but in her current situation, all she could do is make a choice and hope it was the right one.

"I… I love you, Otoya. I truly do. Not like all those other women who fell in love with your mask, I fell in love with the real you. Since the beginning I loved Jackie, and I also loved Otoya. You both being the same person… is wonderful. This is all I have ever wanted. And… I don't think you'll find any girl who will love the real you the same way I do."

Otoya looked thoughtful for a moment as if she had doubts, before she smirked.

"I won't bother trying to tell if what you say is the truth or not. I really don't care. As long as you satisfy me, I won't kill you. But I don't intend to take you by force. That would just be like all those other worthless women, and I know you're worth more than them. Alive."

And thus, Otoya got out of the bed and started to dress up, while Shiena couldn't do anything but watch, dazzled by such beauty. When Otoya was finally all clothed, she turned back towards Shiena with a soft yet arrogant smile.

"I want you to be mine, Shiena. Mine and only mine. Be my girlfriend, satisfy my needs and I shall do the same for you. Make me happy and happiness you shall have. If you agree to date me, I'll take care of you and love you as no one else did- as no one else could. In the end, it's your decision. I won't do anything bad to you if you refuse, unless you denounce me to the cops. I'll let what will happen to you then be up to your imagination."

Otoya then gave her a seductive yet patronizing wink before she left the room and the apartment. Shiena's first instinct was to rush towards the front door and lock it, even if she knew it would be pointless.

She had sex with Otoya. It was an undeniable fact. She had consensual sex with a murderer. And she even enjoyed it.

But that wasn't the worst part. When Otoya wondered if Shiena was telling the truth about loving her, even Shiena herself… didn't know the truth.

* * *

The weather had become warmer these days. Otoya thought she could take advantage of it to do some gardening, just to keep her mind busy and kill some time. It had been a while since she last did that. She used to enjoy gardening, but she eventually grew bored of it. She didn't have the soul of a gardener- she was a florist. She cut flowers and made them even prettier, immortalizing their beauty even in death. What was the point in growing your own flowers when you can have others do it for you? It was way more fun to take what belonged to others and make it yours.

Yet, a certain flower caught her attention, and for the first time, she actually wanted to preserve her- _alive_. As if her true beauty would shine only if she was breathing.

Otoya really wondered what was so special about Shiena. Sure, if she took care of her appearance she could be quite pretty, and she had that cute face, but still, she was far from being a beauty. Yet, there was something undeniably beautiful about Shiena, more than all those women she killed. Still, though, Otoya couldn't quite grasp what was so beautiful about her.

"Hello, Takechi-san."

She knew that voice damn well. Otoya didn't even bother to put on her mask and simply turned back.

"Hashiri," Otoya replied coldly.

"Oh my, what's the cold look for? I thought we were friends!" Nio exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm just paying you a visit cuz you didn't answer any of my messages recently, so I got worried-"

Otoya let out a bitter laugh.

"Friends? What made you think I would ever want to be associated with lowlife trash such as yourself?"

Nio's smile turned into a more sinister grin.

"Please, you're one to talk. You're a disgusting stalker and a rapist."

"Wow, so killing is fine for you, but you draw the line at rape? I didn't know you had a conscience. Can't relate."

"Let's just say I have standards, unlike you. We aren't all degenerates, you know."

"Yet your standards don't seem to include not lying to your allies and deceiving them."

Otoya was now glaring at Nio, who seemed confused yet remained confident and snarky.

"Are you really accusing me of being a liar? You? A clinical-pathological liar? When did I ever lie to you?"

"That night, on New Year's Eve… you asked me to kill that woman. The same woman Shiena was accused of killing. You said it was an emergency and even offered me extra money. Now I wonder- why was it so urgent to kill that woman? And why did Shiena end up knocked out on the crime scene? Because yes, it had been revealed that she had been drugged and therefore, couldn't have committed the murder. She didn't end up there by herself- someone dragged her there with the clear intention of framing her. And I want to know why. Why was I used to frame Shiena?"

If Nio was surprised, she sure hid it pretty well. It didn't even look like she was trying to play innocent.

"I didn't lie to you. I told you there was a woman to kill and offered you money. It's not like I have to tell you why I want those women dead- it never bothered you before. So where's the lie?"

"You still deceived me. You used me to frame Shiena and get her arrested!"

"Yeah… and? I really don't see what the issue is here. Kenmochi-san is a nuisance to us. She was dangerously close to discovering the truth, and some old friend wanted her out. So what's wrong in getting rid of her? I thought you of all people would understand."

Otoya knew that everything Nio was saying was perfectly logical and rational. Yet she still remained pissed off at the thought of having been used- especially for something that was against what she wanted.

"Why so mad, Takechi-san? Don't tell me… you love that girl?!" Nio exclaimed with over exaggerated shock.

Otoya clenched her fist. Love… what was love? Was it really just a mere chemical reaction in the brain, or was there something more to that just like Suzu said? She always felt like love was a weakness, something used to trick naive women. So to admit that she loved Shiena felt like admitting she was weak. Yet somehow, Shiena's love for her made her feel stronger.

"Shiena loves me," Otoya replied. "She belongs to me. I won't let you or anyone else get between us. She's mine and her fate is mine to decide. If you ever try to do something to her, I'll kill you and make sure your little organization gets exposed. Understood?"

Nio looked tense for a moment yet continued to smile, but there was some anger hidden in her red eyes.

"What's so special about that boring girl anyway?" She's so bland and she isn't even rich! She's just a useless nobody!"

Otoya giggled at that, which this time seemed to really annoy Nio.

"What's so funny?"

Otoya then stared at her with a smile full of contempt and arrogance.

"You wouldn't get it. I know just by looking at you. Nobody ever loved you, right? There's no one out there to love someone like you. So of course, you'll never understand the value of someone who truly and unconditionally loves you."

Nio clenched her teeth as she pulled out a gun, aiming at Otoya, who didn't drop her condescending smile.

"I could kill you right now, you know that?!"

"I highly doubt that. It seems that whoever controls this organization wants me alive."

"Don't overestimate yourself! You're nothing more than a maniac who never learned to not run with scissors! There are thousands of psycho serial killers who could replace you. You're expendable!"

"Is that so? Well then, prove it. Shoot me and kill me right there! Come on, do it! Pull the trigger!"

Nio looked even more furious and was now holding her gun with two hands, still aiming at Otoya, who remained calmed and cocky. Nio's hands started to shiver a little before she lowered them.

"Well well, I saw right. I know you don't give a damn about empathy and that kind of shit- you're a killer too. So if you can't kill me, it ain't because of your conscience- it's fear. You're afraid that the big boss is going to give you a good spanking for disobeying their orders, am I right?"

Nio looked like she was tempted to really shoot her but managed to control herself. She put away her gun and turned back.

"Don't overestimate your luck, Takechi-san. One day you'll be deemed not useful anymore. And when that day comes, trust me, I'll be the one to put a bullet in your head."

Otoya smirked at that as Nio walked away and left her backyard.

"_Oh, Hashiri, it's quite the opposite. It's you who will die when I deem you useless to me._"

* * *

Since she was released from the asylum, Shiena did everything she could to avoid any form of social media. She didn't want to read any articles regarding her liberation or Jack, or see people's reaction to her release.

But the truth was, she was just scared. She was terrified at the idea to discover how many people must hate her and still think she's an awful murderer. She was unloved all her childhood and bullied most of her teenage years, and mostly rejected as an adult, so to see a new wave of hatred against her would just be too much to handle. She didn't know how she could face human cruelty again, her heart would most likely be shattered.

Yet, part of her was also… curious. An unhealthy desire to know what people were saying about her- how they reacted to her initial accusation, and then her liberation. How did the people who used to bully her react upon learning she was a "serial killer"? Did they feel guilty, thinking that there was the reason why Shiena turned out that way? Or did they rejoice, feeling like they had been right to mistreat her? And what could be their reaction upon learning that she was actually innocent be? Curiosity was starting to eat her from the inside.

A sudden headache interrupted her thoughts. A vicious migraine that made any more thinking impossible. Shiena let out a cry of pain as she grabbed her head, sobbing softly. She felt so powerless and weak- she wasn't even able to take any pain killers without feeling nauseous, condemned to bear with those awful headaches.

This feeling of helplessness then turned into anger. Anger against Otoya, the evil organization, the asylum, AKA, society, against literally everyone. The entire world was against her- everyone was her enemy. Life was unfair, especially towards her. She let out a terrible cry of rage as she violently tossed everything that was on her desk, before repetitively hitting it.

It wasn't enough, she needed more. She bashed her lamp, which broke on the impact before it hit the floor. The room immediately became darker, only weakly lit by the light of her computer screen. Shiena hit what was the closest to her- the wall. She repetitively punched it, as if the wall itself was responsible for all her misfortune. She let her fists speak for all the anger and frustration she had been bearing in her for so many years.

She was forced to stop when her hands couldn't carry her fury anymore, assailed by an excruciating pain. All Shiena could do was scream the loudest she could, both of pain and rage.

When her throat was so dry that she couldn't scream anymore, Shiena let out a powerful sigh, before she started to pant, exhausted. Her hands were both pulsating with pain, same as her head. She took a look at her hands and, despite the darkness, could see that they were covered in blood.

Shiena froze. She had blood on her hands. Her own blood- and those who died because of her. Her incapacity to guess sooner that Otoya was Jackie killed people- innocents. And what did she do to repay her crimes? She fucked the very person who killed them! While Otoya brought her pleasure, she brought so much pain to other women who weren't as lucky as her. She was the worst.

Shiena fell to her knees before she curled up on the floor, crying. She cried every tear her body was humanely capable of producing, until her eyes were left as dry as a desert. All this crying eventually numbed the pain away. Alone in the darkness, her eyelids started to feel heavy and her consciousness started to fade away. She was ready to let herself get engulfed by the darkness.

But then, as she was about to fall asleep, her attention got attracted by the light of her screen. She remembered what she wanted to do. She hardly got up and sat down in front of her computer and, gathering what she had left of courage, she started to surf on the net.

There were so many articles regarding her arrest and her trial, as well as her liberation. And unlike what she thought, most articles seemed doubtful about her culpability. A lot of specialists even mentioned that she didn't fit the criteria of a typical serial killer. They didn't think that she had any sociopathic or even narcissistic tendencies expected from that type of sadistic murderer.

In fact, her arrest and trial started a controversy. A lot of people believed in her innocence, there was even a support group dedicated to find evidence that she wasn't Jack. Looking into it, Shiena discovered that they were mostly composed of people she knew, like old coworkers and classmates. Shiena always thought that everyone hated her, but it seemed that she wasn't as disliked as she thought.

Articles about her liberation and innocence were even more positive. People were upset to discover that an innocent woman spent weeks in an asylum under false accusations and suspected that she was mistreated there. They viewed Shiena as a tragic hero working for the police who got unfairly treated and betrayed by her own side, suspecting that she might have been a scapegoat to hide the police's incompetence to catch the real killer. She was made a martyr by the media and even lionized.

Then when Shiena logged into her Facebook, she was drowned in messages from supportive people, praising her and offering her their sympathy for what she went through. So many kind messages that managed to bring tears to Shiena's eyes even if they were totally dry.

At first, Shiena didn't know how to feel about that. Never in her entire life did she receive so much love, acceptance and respect. People finally recognized her worth and all her sacrifices for the greater good. She was a hero, a good person, and people were expecting her to do something great.

After all the pain and misery, Shiena finally cracked a smile. She felt chills in her body, but not from fright- those were from excitement. She couldn't help but burst into laughter, overwhelmed by pure happiness. All her suffering finally paid off. She got what she always desired the most and deserved.

Love.

Shiena glanced at her bag- the one Otoya brought back to her. The brunette hadn't looked inside, too afraid that Otoya might have added something suspicious. But she was now ready to get back what was hers.

She opened it and took a look inside. Everything inside belonged to her, there was nothing new. She put her hand inside and was surprised to find her gun. She thought it was left in police custody as evidence. It looked like somehow, Otoya managed to get it back and for a strange reason, thought it was a good idea to give it back to her.

Shiena smiled to herself. As the hero people expected from her, she'll accomplish what she failed to do before.

She put back the gun in the bag and dressed up, bandaged her hands, before leaving her apartment, knowing what she had to do left.

* * *

For the first time in years, Otoya cleaned up her room. Time seemed to fly really slowly these days and she was really starting to get bored. Otoya had always been someone who was easily bored, thus always needed entertainment and excitement in her life. The last couple of months did cure her from this eternal boredom, with her cat and mouse game with Shiena being so much fun and captivating. But now, it was time to go to the next step. Actually owning the object of her desire.

And for that, she had to wait, and thus had to bear with boredom. All she could do was kill time in any way possible, even by cleaning her room. Slowly but surely, she was weaving her web, but not as a trap. She was weaving a comfy nest for her and her precious flower.

Knock, knock, knock.

Otoya immediately stopped everything she was doing and headed for the front door, without running yet walking fast. She waited a moment in front of the door to make it look like she wasn't in a hurry to see who it was. When she felt like she made her guest wait enough, she opened the door.

Shiena was facing her. Otoya remained in the doorframe and leaned on the side, giving her the best charming smile she could muster. Shiena wasn't at her best right now. It looked like she had put on the first clothes she found on the floor, her hair was a mess and she looked quite tired. Yet, she remained so beautiful in Otoya's eyes. Her hair looked so soft and fluffy, she just wanted to run her hands through it. Her skin looked so smooth, and she wished she could run her fingers on it and caress her whole body. Her brown eyes, dull yet so expressive, so true and honest, the type of gaze that would never lie. And those lips, they looked so soft and tasty- so _kissable_.

If she could she would just take Shiena right now and screw her in the hallway. But, she had to be patient. Food tasted better when you took the time to cook it.

"Hey, Shiena-chan. What brings you up here?" Otoya said nonchalantly.

Shiena remained quiet. Otoya wasn't sure she understood her expression. Was Shiena angry? Afraid? Horny? All of the above? She couldn't quite tell. But, one thing was sure. Shiena's pupils were pretty dilated.

"Otoya…" Shiena mumbled.

"Yes?"

Shiena stopped talking for a moment and looked down, before she took a deep breath and looked at Otoya in the eyes, her gaze full of passion. Otoya didn't do anything when Shiena stepped towards her and suddenly kissed her on the lips. A little bit unexpected, yet not unwelcomed. Otoya wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her back, before Shiena broke the kiss to stare at her right in the eyes.

"I love you, Otoya. I want to be your girlfriend."

Never in her life had such simple words brought her so much happiness. For the first time, she felt like the hole in her heart was truly filled.

Otoya didn't lose any more time and softly dragged Shiena in her house and closed the door. She kissed Shiena back as she led her through her house. At first she wanted to bring her to her room, but, too impatient, she headed for the living room instead, which was closer. She stopped right next to the couch and continued to fierly kiss her new girlfriend as her hands went down to gently grab her ass. Shiena let out a soft cry but didn't push her back. Otoya knew she could go further and slipped her hand under Shiena's shirt, softly caressing her bare skin, before she removed her top. She was rejoiced to discover that Shiena didn't bother to put on a bra. Shiena looked a little bit embarrassed but didn't hide her nudity.

Gosh, she was so adorable right now, Otoya could just eat her up. And she will.

Otoya removed her shirt and her bra, revealing her quite generous bosom. Shiena blushed at that sight, much to Otoya's delight. It was time to move on to the main course.

Otoya suddenly pinned Shiena against the couch, who offered no resistance, as Otoya got rid of her pants and underwear. It was her second time having sex with Shiena and her first time as official girlfriends.

And she intended to enjoy every second of it.

* * *

**Shiena: I'll be the hero people expect me to be and do the right thing!**

**Also Shiena: _Left her gun at home and went to fuck Otoya instead._**

**Girl been horny for that serial killer's ass for more than 20 chapters, give her a break.**


	26. Masquerade

**Hey there! I'm back! Special thank you to my new proofreader who did a very good job with this chapter! Without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

There was a delicious smell when Shiena woke up. The tasty scent of bacon was flowing in the air and Shiena instinctively started to salivate. She was quite hungry.

She rose up from the couch and looked around, wondering where this smell came from. It wasn't the only smell in the air- the room was filled with the sweet scent of sex and sweat. And it wasn't her place.

So it wasn't a dream after all. She once again slept with Otoya, and this time she was the one who initiated the contact. Shiena felt dirty, and not only because she was all sticky with sweat and cum. It was like her very soul had been tainted.

She grabbed her head and let out a sigh. She was overwhelmed with guilt, shame, doubt- but, she knew she was doing the right thing.

All she was doing was for the greater good, after all.

Her stomach growled and the scent of bacon became stronger. Hunger was assailing her as Shiena finally rose from the couch. She looked around and managed to find her clothes scattered on the floor of the living room and headed for the only rational place where this smell could come from- the kitchen.

Even if she was expecting to see her there, Shiena's heart still skipped a beat when she saw Otoya. They may have slept together twice and proclaimed their love for each other, Shiena was still scared of Otoya. Who wouldn't when they knew they are in the same room as a psychopathic serial killer with sadistic and murderous sexual tendencies? Well, maybe some weirdos, but Shiena wasn't weird.

Right?

Otoya was just standing there, happily humming as she was cooking, wearing some cute apron. She looked so normal that it was terrifying. It was scary how she could blend so perfectly and act like a normal human being. No one would ever suspect that she is actually a remorseless and cruel monster. But it wasn't surprising or shocking. It was part of the very nature of a psychopath.

"O-Otoya…" Shiena called weakly.

Her newfound girlfriend turned back and smiled at her- such a warm and sweet smile, full of love and kindness- but Shiena knew all of this was fake.

"Oh, Shiena-chan! You're finally awake!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully. "Come here, I made you breakfast."

A little bit wary, Shiena stepped inside the kitchen and sat at the table. Otoya hastened to put a plate with two eggs, toast and some really tasty-looking bacon. Shiena nearly drooled at the sight as Otoya also put down a cup of coffee next to her girlfriend.

"Eggs sunny side up and a coffee with milk and sugar, just the way you like them," Otoya said with a radiant smile. "Oh, and I added some bacon because, well, let's be real. Who doesn't like bacon?"

Shiena didn't know what to answer to that. She frankly just wanted to eat. All she managed to do is mumble a quick "thank you", which seemed to please Otoya. The serial killer then brought her own plate and drink- black coffee, and sat in front of Shiena before starting to eat. Shiena did the same, enjoying each bite of her delicious breakfast.

And they just both respectively enjoyed their meal in silence. Shiena felt kinda awkward and tense, while Otoya seemed totally relaxed and calm. Shiena often wished she could have her ability to not feel stress or fear. In a way, she was envious of psychopaths.

"So, how's work doing?" Otoya asked casually.

"Uh… Well, I'm kind of… on a break from work. You know, with the whole 'I got framed for your murder' thing and sent to an asylum for weeks."

"Oh, right… sorry about that."

That didn't sound sincere in the slightest, not that Shiena really cared. She wasn't looking for sympathy from Otoya anyway.

"You said you knew who framed me. Tell me who's behind that!" Shiena demanded.

Otoya took a sip of her coffee, not in a hurry to answer Shiena's question.

"Come on Shiena-chan, with that big brain of yours, don't tell me you don't have an idea of who framed you."

Of course she had a hunch, but Shiena wanted to hear it directly from Otoya's mouth.

"It's your group, your guild of assassins, isn't it? Or whoever controls it," Shiena said.

"It's called Black Guild," Otoya replied. "I don't know all the details, but my boss said they framed you because you were becoming a nuisance for the organization, as well as a favour for a certain friend."

"Your boss? Who?"

"Tsk-tsk, you didn't think I would snitch on my boss, didt you? I'd like to, believe me, but you see, I'm a fan of not ending up dismembered with body parts ditched in various dumpsters, you know."

So there was something Otoya feared. Well, maybe fear wasn't the right word, but nothing she wasn't willing to take a risk of happening: death. Probably the most human trait Otoya ever displayed- the desire to stay alive. Ironic coming from someone who had no problem taking others' lives.

"Then can you at least tell me who this 'friend' is? Given that they seemed determined to see me behind bars for whatever reason."

"Trust me, if I knew I'd tell you, but I unfortunately don't know who that 'friend' is or why they wanted to get rid of you. I can try to dig up some clues on that if you want."

"Yeah, that would be appreciated. Thanks."

"No problem. Anything for my dear Shiena-chan."

Otoya smiled and Shiena tried her best to show a smile that looked genuine. She knew it wouldn't be that easy to make Otoya talk about her group. But hopefully, over time, she would gain the trust of Otoya, by satisfying her and playing with her ego. That was the best way to manipulate a narcissist.

After all, learning the truth about Black Guild was the sole reason why Shiena accepted to date this person she oh-so hated.

* * *

"And that will be 500 yen," Otoya said with a polite smile.

The customer, a rather pretty woman, dropped a few coins on the counter. Otoya packed the flowers she purchased and as she gave them to the woman, she delicately brushed her hand and her smile turned charming.

"I really appreciate you as a customer. You bring more beauty here than any flower could ever do," Otoya casually said with a wink.

The woman blushed at that comment.

"T-Thanks, Takechi-san."

"Don't thank me for simply stating the truth. Anyway, have a good day!"

The customer simply nodded shyly as she walked away. Otoya always loved this part of her job- being about to flirt with pretty women. It was so easy to make them all flushed and flustered. She may be in a relationship now, but it didn't mean she had to stop appreciating women's beauty.

She had caught Shiena in her web and slowly, she'll weave a comfy cocoon around her so she can never leave her. They will be together forever- or until Otoya deems Shiena useless to her. Her life belonged to her and only she could decide if the brunette lives or dies. Shiena belonged to her.

This thought made Otoya grin.

"Excuse me miss, how much for those flowers?"

Otoya came back to reality and raised her head, to be immediately annoyed to see who this customer was.

"Hashiri…"

Nio was standing in front of her, holding a bouquet of lily flowers, her usual cat-like-smile on her lips.

"Usually they would be 600 yen, but for you, my dear friend, it will be 1200 yen," Otoya replied with a smirk.

"Eh!? How awful! Is this how you treat your friends?" Nio said with a fake shocked expression.

Otoya sighed. What was this brat doing here? She probably wasn't here to kill her, given all the witnesses. And it wasn't like Otoya could kill her either. So, was she just here to pick a fight? Ruin her reputation of the flawless and always-friendly florist?

"Why are you here? I highly doubt you're interested in flowers or need them anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Firstly, you don't have the grace and wisdom to be interested in flowers. Secondly, I doubt you have anyone to give them to anyway."

"Ouch! How rude! You should know that I actually have quite the knowledge of flowers!"

"I like how you didn't deny that you don't have anyone to give them to."

"_Anyway_, there was something I didn't get the chance to ask you last time and, again, you're ignoring my messages…"

"If your messages aren't about work, don't expect me to bother answering you. I have better things to do."

"Like what? Fucking miss Nerdy-face?" yeah stuipid

Otoya ignored Nio's snarky comment and swiped the flowers from her hands.

"What do you want?" Otoya asked coldly.

Nio smirked.

"No need to be so cold. I was just curious about how Kenmochi managed to get out of the asylum."

"Hm? Why are you asking me? Wasn't there a leak of information? Like proof of Shiena's innocence that had been hidden?"

"I wonder how this leak happened. It's probably someone from our group, someone who, for some reason, wanted Kenmochi out… Someone who _loves_ her."

Otoya didn't like how the conversation was going. She needed someone else to take the blame.

"I don't know… you said she was in an asylum, right? Was there anyone from our group there? You know, to keep an eye on her?" Otoya asked.

Nio looked thoughtful for a moment.

"There was," Nio admitted. "But still, it doesn't explain how Kenmochi managed to get one of the best and most expensive lawyers in Japan…"

"Well, everyone in our group is well paid, it wouldn't be surprising that whoever leaked those pieces of information paid the lawyer."

"Hmm… You know what, that actually makes sense. It's not like you'd have known about the fact Kenmochi was framed anyway- or the intellect to deduce it by yourself."

"So you were suspecting me, huh," Otoya replied, ignoring the insult.

"Can you blame me? Especially after you threatened me about Kenmochi? Anyway, keep her on a leash, okay? Since you said her fate was yours to decide, if she becomes a real threat to us, you better take care of her. Or else, I will take care of both of you. Understood?"

"Is this your way of suggesting a threesome? If so, you really ain't my type-"

"I swear to God, Takechi, if you put us in danger I'll cut Kenmochi into pieces and send you her body parts one by one and then kill you. Is it more clear to you now?"

Otoya simply smiled at that as she got closer to Nio.

"Oh, really clear. As you know, I'm the one specialized in cutting women to pieces. And you ain't my type, so don't worry, I don't intend to do anything that would force me to kill you."

Nio smiled back but Otoya could see the anger in her eyes.

"Have a good evening, Takechi-san," Nio said coldly as she left the shop.

Otoya looked around to see if anyone seemed to have heard their conversation, but the shop was almost empty. Then, she glanced at the lily flowers she was still holding and got an idea.

She was happy and not even Nio could ruin it for her.

* * *

Shiena let out a deep sigh of relief as she stepped inside her apartment and closed the door behind her. Finally she wasn't stuck in that psychopath's house anymore. But she knew this moment of relief would be ephemeral. Soon she'll have to see Otoya again, her "girlfriend".

Just like Otoya used her, Shiena will use her for her own benefit. She'll discover who the other members of Black Guild are and get them all arrested, Otoya included. That was all what those murderers deserved.

Shiena went inside her room and looked at her board. On the bottom there were five pieces of paper pinned to the board. One which had"Ripper" written on it, for Jack, which she now knew was Otoya. The other words written for each paper was Drowner, Strangler, Bomber and Cleaner. The other four suspected members of Black Guild, named according to their apparent method of killing. All of those sheets were linked to another one with red strings where "Black Guild" was written. Then, on a separate sheet linked to the Black Guild sheet she added one where "Boss" was written, and next to it, only linked to Boss, a paper where "Friend" was written.

She remembered Otoya mentioned that she had a boss, but Shiena doubted that it was the leader behind the organization. She doubted that the one truly responsible would show themselves to mere assassins. The boss was probably just under the order of the true leader. The true mastermind, a cold and rational individual with no sympathy for anyone, someone who liked to be in control and have power over others.

Someone who was probably high on the Psychopathy Checklist.

Shiena grabbed another piece of paper and pinned it above Black Guild, adding a red string between them, as well as between Boss. The true leader of this group… Who remained hidden and let others do the dirty work without bloodying their own hand.

Just like a king.

No, not a king. Shiena remembered this mysterious woman who visited her when she was in jail, this woman who proposed a lawyer to her- the lawyer that backstabbed her and made her declared criminally insane. This woman was part of this group, it was obvious. And the way she acted, talked, and even moved, fit perfectly with what she thought the mastermind would be like.

This woman must be the true leader. The _queen_.

That's it. That will be what she will call her. Shiena grabbed her pen and wrote "Queen" on the paper.

Thanks to Otoya's information, the board was pretty much complete. In a corner was a sheet where "AKA" was written, and next to it one where "Traitor" was written, both linked with a red string to AKA and Black Guild. Shiena was still convinced that there was a traitor in AKA, hence how Otoya was able to trick her for so long.

Now all she needed to do was find their true identities, for all of them. And for that, she'll need to continue this little masquerade with Otoya.

To the Queen, they were all pieces on her chessboard. She was the strongest piece, yet still controlling her pawns while remaining hidden as if she was also the king. For someone like her, a person like Shiena was nothing more than another pawn on her chessboard.

Shiena grinned at that thought.

"_Then I'll show her. I'll show her that even a pawn can take out a queen._"

She'll show them all that they didn't succeed in silencing her and that she didn't intend to let herself be threatened. She'll defeat them and bring them all to justice, just like the hero people were expecting of her. It was both a personal vendetta as well as a quest of justice.

Then, a sudden knock interrupted her thoughts. A little bit worried, Shiena headed for the front door and opened it, only to be welcomed by a bouquet of lily flowers… held by none other than Otoya.

"Hey, Shiena-chan! I thought I could pass by after work, with a little gift as an expression of my love for you!" Otoya said cheerfully.

Shiena would have much preferred that she would have just gone back to her house. But, as her "girlfriend" she had to be welcoming to her, so Shiena simply smiled.

"Thanks, Otoya. That's really sweet of you."

Otoya smiled back as she stepped inside, as if it was also her home. She headed for the kitchen and grabbed a glass she filled with water, where she put the flowers in. Then she returned to the living room and simply let herself fall on the couch.

"Phew, I'm so tired! Work was so exhausting today, and I had to deal with a rather annoying and unpleasant _customer_," Otoya complained as she untied her hair.

She was really making herself at home huh. Shiena didn't know if she should be annoyed or just downright terrified. Then, Otoya softly patted the space next to her in an inviting way.

"Shiena-chan, I'm all exhausted and sore, I need some love and comfort from my girlfriend!"

And then Otoya gazed at her with her sad puppy eyes, those eyes that looked so innocent yet hid a darkness that was even darker than black. Shiena almost felt herself getting engulfed in the blackness, the cold and terrifying darkness, yet she also had a surprisingly warm feeling in her chest when she looked at Otoya. It was like she was stuck in a lukewarm purgatory.

Shiena didn't protest and sat next to Otoya, who immediately laid her head on her lap, much to the brunette's surprise.

"O-Otoya!"

"Ahhh, Shiena-chan's lap is so comfy! It's just the perfect pillow!" Otoya exclaimed enthusiastically.

Shiena couldn't help but blush. Otoya simply looked so cute and adorable right now. Shiena almost forgot that she was dealing with a hideous monster in human skin.

"Shiena-chan, pet me ~"

"Huh?"

"I want you to stroke me and play with my hair."

What a strange request. What was she, a cat? More like a cougar. But, cats were known to play with their food before eating it. Otoya definitely have the hunter and sadistic nature of cats.

"Shiena-chan, please ~"

Shiena sighed and did as she was told. She softly caressed Otoya's head, running her fingers in her soft and smooth hair, mainly straight yet curly at the tip. Shiena was kind of jealous- she wished she could have hair like that, instead of her frizzy hair that was almost impossible to comb.

"Rub my back," Otoya asked with a purr.

Shiena obliged and stroked Otoya's back, gently caressing it.

"Hm… it feels good. But I want to feel you more. Go under my shirt."

Shiena felt her face becoming warmer. Why was she so flushed? She had sex with Otoya twice, it wasn't like touching her bare skin was that special.

Slowly, Shiena slipped her hand under Otoya's shirt and started to rub her back. Otoya let out a pleased sound that sounded like a moan, which made Shiena's heart race.

"Mmmm, it's good… go lower now, Shiena-chan."

Shiena was starting to think maybe Otoya wasn't only here for "comfort". Wanting to maintain her role as her obedient girlfriend, Shiena did as she said, going lower as she gently brushed her bare skin, until her hand started to slip under Otoya's pants…

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Shiena froze immediately. Otoya rose up brusquely, looking annoyed yet curious.

"Hm? I didn't know you were expecting a visitor," Otoya said with reproach in her voice.

"I… I don't! I have no idea who that might be… wait, I'll go check. Stay here."

Shiena rose up and walked towards the front door, a little bit wary. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see who it was, who immediately rushed inside to hug Shiena.

"Kenmochi! I was so worried for you!"

"N-Namatame!?"

Chitaru broke the hug, looking a little bit embarrassed by her outburst of emotion, before she grabbed Shiena's shoulders.

"I called you so many times, left you so many messages! I thought something might have happened to you!"

"Ah… yeah, sorry. I kept receiving phone calls from reporters so I muted my phone and… I was too worried to check my messages. Sorry!"

"Don't apologize, I understand. I'm just glad that you are okay."

Shiena was filled with happiness upon learning that Chitaru had been worried for her. Chitaru, one of the only people who doubted her guilt during the trial. She missed her, she missed her kindness, her sense of justice, her protective side… and she was just so damn beautiful.

"Mm? Shiena-chan? Who's that?"

Shiena almost forgot about her. She froze, having a bad feeling about that. Otoya was now by her side and stared at Chitaru, before she smiled politely.

"Hi! Are you a friend of Shiena-chan?"

"Oh, uh, yeah… I'm Namatame Chitaru. We work together for the police," Chitaru replied, looking confused. "Kenmochi, who's-"

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Takechi Otoya, Shiena-chan's girlfriend. Nice to meet you!"

As she said that, Otoya wrapped her arm around Shiena's shoulders, almost in a possessive way. She then offered her other hand to Chitaru, who hesitantly shook it.

If only Chitaru knew that she was shaking hands with the very killer she was tracking. Shiena was almost tempted to tell her right now, but she knew it was for the best to wait. She needed Otoya to find the rest of Black Guild and who was behind it. When Otoya is useless to her, then she'll tell Chitaru the truth.

"Kenmochi, I'm sorry to arrive unannounced, but something bad happened. I know you're technically on a break, but we would really need your help. I need you to come with me."

"What… what's going on?" Shiena asked, worried.

"I can't tell you now. Come with me and I'll tell you on our way."

Chitaru offered her her hand and Shiena hesitated for a moment. She glanced at Otoya, as if she needed her approbation, and the latter simply smiled.

"You can go, Shiena-chan. I'll take care of the apartment while you're out."

Shiena immediately felt a wave of concern. Otoya, staying alone in _her_ apartment? When she's not there? It didn't sound like a good idea at all, but if she refused and asked Otoya to leave, it would look suspicious, given that she was officially her girlfriend. While Shiena tried to find an excuse to make her leave, Chitaru dragged her out of the apartment in a hurry and started leaving the building.

"We have no time to lose," Chitaru said. "It's time for you to learn the truth."

When they arrived outside, Chitaru led her to her car and opened the door for her.

"W-Where are we going?" Shiena asked nervously.

"To the hospital- one of ours almost got killed," Chitaru said.

Shiena immediately froze.

"What!? Who?!"

"You don't know her, she's one of our double agents. Get in the car, I'll explain on our way there."

Shiena obeyed and got inside the car as Chitaru sat in the driver seat, before starting to drive.

"A double agent? For what?" Shiena asked, intrigued.

"It has been months since I sent a double agent to spy on our enemies. I stopped receiving updates from her for weeks now, and then I suddenly heard she got shot. An assassination attempt, probably. Thankfully she survived and will be able to tell us what happened. Did she blow her cover? Or was it something else? We need to know!"

"Wait, I don't understand. Our enemies? Who are you talking about?" Shiena asked, confused.

Chitaru remained silent for a moment as she continued to drive, before she glanced at Shiena.

"I thought you already figured it out. I'm talking about Black Guild!"


	27. Pheromones

**Sorry for the delay it took me forever to finish this chapter. And I think it worthed it, I feel like you're going to like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Shiena immediately froze in the doorframe of the hospital room. She simply couldn't believe her eyes and remained wasn't just because of the sight of witnessing someone at the brink of death and desperately clinging to life, no.

It was because she knew that person.

"... Shutou?" Shiena weakly mumbled in disbelief.

Lying on the hospital bed was her old psychiatrist back in the asylum, plugged into various life supports instruments, seemingly sleeping with an oxygen mask on her face. Shiena slowly got closer to confirm her identity.

Yep, there was no doubt. It was truly her.

"Kenmochi? You know her?" Chitaru asked, surprised.

"Ah, yeah… she was my psychiatrist back in the asylum. And… she helped me. She knew the truth, that I had been framed."

"Hm, I see. I'm glad to hear that despite her lack of communication, Shutou was still doing her job."

"What… what do you mean by that? Who is she? You said she was a double agent, right?"

Chitaru didn't answer right away and took a few steps towards Suzu, worry and sympathy in her ruby eyes. She then turned back to look at Shiena, looking serious.

"Shutou used to work for AKA," Chitaru began. "She worked as a forensic psychiatrist until she retired to work in a hospital. Meanwhile, I was starting to suspect some sort of secret group- a guild of hitmen. Then Shutou contacted me and confirmed my suspicions: she had been approached by some shady people. For some reason, they wanted her to become an assassin for them. Then I got an idea. I asked her to accept and spy on them. This is how I learned their name: Black Guild."

Shiena couldn't believe what she heard. So Chitaru really knew about this evil organization, and way before she did. And all this time, she was trying her best to undercover it on her own and hid it from her coworkers.

"How… how many people know about Black Guild?" Shiena asked. "Is all of AKA aware?"

"No. Let's just say that this investigation is a secret. If we sent a spy, they could have done the same to us. The fewer people know, the better it is. And knowing about Black Guild puts a target on your back, so we minimize the number of people at risk of getting killed."

Shiena sighed. For a moment she was afraid that she might have spent so much time and effort on something everybody already knew- and would have been hiding from her for some reason.

"But unfortunately," Chitaru continued, "it seems that someone blew her cover. Black Guild must have sent an assassin to take her out, but, thankfully, they failed to kill her. I wish we could ask Shutou what happened, but according to the doctor, she fell into a coma due to the shock caused by blood loss. But her life shouldn't be in danger."

Shiena went by Suzu's side and examined her. Who tried to kill her and why did they fail if they were supposedly a professional assassin? Something wasn't adding up.

"Where did she get shot?" Shiena asked.

"In the back. The assassin shot her in the back like a coward-"

"Or they couldn't bear to look at Shutou's face," Shiena theorized. "What's the extent of her injuries?"

"No vital organs had been hit. It's almost a miracle."

"Or rather, it was intentional."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, isn't it strange that an assassin would miss like that?"

"Maybe it was a rookie…"

"No, even a rookie would have at least hit something. This is clearly the work of a professional, and this person intentionally aimed to miss any vital organ."

"You mean… the assassin didn't actually want to kill Shutou?"

"That's what I think, though I could be wrong. Shutou was in Black Guild for a while, right? Then maybe she got close to some assassins, maybe one of them became her ally, her friend… and when they were asked to take out Shutou, they couldn't do the deed. They couldn't even face Shutou. So they shot her in the back and made sure to miss any vital organ."

Chitaru looked thoughtful for a moment. Shiena herself wasn't sure about her theory, but that was what the current clues lead her to believe.

"Well, whether you're right or not doesn't really matter right now. As soon as Black Guild will learn that Shutou survived, they will send another assassin to finish the job- someone who won't fail. We hide which hospital Shutou is staying in and if she's alive or not, and we added extra security. Hopefully, it will be enough to protect her. Only direct family or her spouse can have access to her and only under strict supervision."

"Hm, that sounds good. Um… who else knows?"

"I can't tell you yet, but you'll know soon enough. I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. Together, we'll bring an end to Black Guild and make them pay for what they did to you."

Shiena couldn't help but smile. She was happy to hear that she could count on Chitaru. She felt way safer knowing she had her back. She wasn't alone anymore. And with Chitaru, she was ready to take down Black Guild.

"I won't keep you any longer, go back to your girlfriend," Chitaru said as she gave a pat on Shiena's back. "I didn't know you were seeing someone. Good for you!"

Shiena froze. Otoya… she almost forgot about her! She let her alone in her apartment. Who knows what she could have done…

"Haha, yeah…," Shiena replied, trying to hide her nervousness. "Well then, I'll take my leave now, because Otoya… must be missing me."

"Ah, love sure is truly beautiful, huh. It's the same with me and Hitsugi. I don't know what I would do without her in my life. So I'm glad you found your special someone. Maybe she'll take your mind off the ripper."

Shiena knew Chitaru was joking, but this joke hit too close to home. She simply nodded and let out a nervous laugh, before she left the hospital, rushing towards her apartment and hoping Otoya didn't do anything vile during her absence.

* * *

Shiena hurried to unlock the door and barge into her apartment, her heart racing like crazy after running for so long. She was completely out of breath and exhausted, so much so that she immediately collapsed as soon as she stepped into her home. She was panting heavily to catch her breath, before she managed to rise up, her tired legs shaking. With the back of her hand, she wiped away the sweat on her forehead, and then looked around frantically.

"... Otoya?"

No response.

"Otoya?"

Shiena started to walk around her apartment.

"Otoya!? OTOYA!"

Still no answer. Shiena looked up through all the rooms, nothing. No sign of a certain serial killer. But she did notice something else.

The place was abnormally clean.

There was nothing on the floor, everything was where it belonged, there wasn't even a single speck of dust. She even looked through her laundry basket to discover that it was empty.

Otoya cleaned up her apartment when she was gone and even did her laundry. Upon this realization, Shiena let out a giggle, not even sure what was funny.

"_What's her game? Is she playing the perfect girlfriend? Pff, as if I would fall for that…_"

As she stepped inside her bedroom, something immediately hit her.

The board.

"_Fuck! Otoya must have seen it._"

Not that it really mattered at this point, but it still worried Shiena. She was scared that Otoya might consider that she knew too much and eliminate her. Shiena cursed herself to not have hidden it before leaving.

As she got closer, Shiena noticed that something changed on the board. Something had been added.

A piece of paper had joined those linked to Black Guild. But unlike the others, the red string had been severed and tied back together.

"Poisoner," Shiena read.

Was Otoya trying to tell her that there was also an assassin using poison in Black Guild?

…

Poison?

An assassin using poison… why was it ringing a bell?

Then Shiena suddenly remembered and immediately looked for her phone.

She had to call Chitaru immediately.

* * *

As soon as she heard a knock on the door, Shiena rushed to open it. A smile appeared on her lips when she discovered Chitaru, which immediately vanished when she saw who was with her.

"You…!"

It was stronger than her. Shiena jumped forwards, fist raised, ready to punch Tokaku right in the face. But the blue-haired girl was faster and nimbly dodged the attack, grabbing Shiena's hand. The brunette wasn't going to give up easily, overwhelmed by rage and resentment, as she tried to punch her coworker with her other fist. Once again, Tokaku easily blocked her futile attack, now holding both Shiena's hands.

"Kenmochi, that's enough!" Tokaku shouted. "Calm down!"

"Screw you! You accused me of being a killer! You called me a creep in front of hundreds of people!" Shiena yelled.

"Wait, I never called you a cree-"

Shiena hit Tokaku in the face with her head, which forced her to release her. But before Shiena could attack again, she got grabbed by behind.

"Stop!" Chitaru exclaimed. "She's on our side!"

"Fuck off! She sold me out!" Shiena let out with rage.

"And I'd still do it if I find you again covered in blood next to a corpse!" Tokaku replied as she stepped aggressively towards Shiena.

But before she could get to Shiena, someone got between them and stopped her.

"Please, Tokaku! Don't fight!" Haru implored.

Tokaku's expression immediately softened when her girlfriend intervened. She let out a sigh, glancing at Shiena before stepping back. Haru turned back towards Shiena.

"You too, Shiena-san. Tokaku made a mistake and she was wrong to accuse you, but hurting her won't change anything. We have to work together if we want to stop Black Guild."

Shiena was still fuming and took a deep breath to calm down as Chitaru released her.

"How is it that Ichinose is aware of Black Guild? You told her but not me?" Shiena asked Chitaru, a little bit offended.

"I didn't. I only told Azuma. Ichinose just happened to be listening through doors when we were discussing it."

"Ah. That does sound like Ichinose," Shiena replied.

"Eh?" Haru said.

"Nothing," Shiena said.

"Anyway, you said you had something to show me? I thought it would be good to have the others who knew about Black Guild."

"Yeah. Come on in."

Shiena's coworkers stepped inside her apartment. Tokaku was the only one to look around, given that she was the only one who never saw Shiena's home.

"It's really clean here," Tokaku commented.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I had much to do, given that I couldn't work," Shiena replied.

"Well, you're free to come back to work whenever you feel ready," Chitaru said.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Shiena replied as she headed for her room. "This way."

Shiena let them get inside her room, a little bit nervous. Her bedroom had always been her safe haven, so she never felt comfortable letting people come inside.

"So, what wanted you to show me?" Chitaru asked.

"I bet it's that crazy conspiracy theorist board there," Tokaku commented as she pointed the board.

"Those are the result of my investigation," Shiena replied.

Chitaru stepped towards the board, pondering as she rubbed her chin.

"So I suppose those papers linked to Black Guild are the suspected assassins?" Chitaru asked.

"Yeah. I nicknamed them based on their apparent method of killing."

"Cleaner? What the hell's that supposed to mean? They kill by overcleaning or…?" Tokaku said.

"I… didn't really have a better nickname for them. I don't even know their actual method of killing, to be frank. All I know is that they make their target completely disappear and leave no corpse behind."

"Oh, that must be Shutou then," Chitaru said.

"Shutou?!" Shiena exclaimed. "She killed those people? How!?"

"She didn't. Those people who disappeared are still alive," Chitaru revealed. "It was part of the plan. She had to pretend to be an assassin, but obviously without killing anyone for real. So we got the idea to simply put Shutou's targets under the witness protection program. They have been safely evacuated and were given a new identity. They are all living under government protection, and are officially considered dead."

Shiena let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew. I see. Good thinking. A lot of lives were spared thanks to you."

"But a lot of people still died. Shutou's been there for months and she still hasn't discovered the identity of the other members and failed to report anything for weeks," Tokaku added.

"Shutou was risking her life, and we don't know how things were for her in Black Guild. She did what she could, and because of that she nearly died. Don't be too rough on her," Chitaru replied.

Tokaku didn't reply to that and simply crossed her arms, looking away. Shiena didn't know anything about the situation, but she felt like Tokaku and Suzu were probably not on best terms, or that Tokaku simply distrusted Suzu for some reason. After all, she was pretty paranoid.

Shiena grabbed a pencil and added Shutou's name under Cleaner as well as "double agent", severed the link between it and Black Guild and added a new red string to connect it to AKA. She then noticed that Chitaru's gaze was attracted by a specific paper.

"Poisoner…?" Chitaru mumbled.

"Oh, yeah. That's what I wanted to tell you. You mentioned an assassin using poison, right? Angel Trumpet I think. Well, I think they might be part, or have been part, of Black Guild."

"What makes you think that?" Tokaku asked, suspicious.

"W-Well, after doing some digging about Angel Tumpet's murders, I found that they fit the pattern of Black Guild."

"Why did you put a knot in the string?" Haru asked.

"Uh… because it seems like they are inactive now, either they left Black Guild or… they are dead."

Shiena noticed how tensed Chitaru looked despite her apparent stoicness. Her fist was clenched tight and shaking a little.

"So it confirms my suspicion," Chitaru finally said. "I always felt like Angel Trumpet wasn't working alone, that they were part of something bigger. That's actually the reason why I started investigating Black Guild, to find Angel Trumpet, but also because I knew someone gave them the order to kill her- to kill those innocent people. Angel Trumpet needs to pay for their crime, as well as whoever paid them, and all their allies. I'll bring them all to justice!"

There seemed to be something more than just justice; as if Chitaru had a personal reason why she wanted to arrest Angel Trumpet and Black Guild. But Shiena didn't dare to ask, same as the others. Either they already knew or knew when it was time to stay quiet.

"Who's that 'Queen' above Black Guild?" Haru suddenly asked.

"Oh, it's whoever controls Black Guild."

"How do you know it's a woman?" Tokaku asked.

"Well, when I was in jail, a woman visited me. She's the one who gave me this shady lawyer who made me plead being criminally insane. She's without any doubt linked to Black Guild and the conspiracy to frame me. I'm not sure if she's the big boss, but she sure gave that vibe."

"Do you know her name? What she looked like?" Chitaru asked.

"Unfortunately she refused to give me her name. She's a woman in her forties, dressed in a suit, really professional-looking, with that plastic smile that seemed printed on her face. She had long brown- no, more like chestnut, hair, and purple eyes… kinda like Ichinose."

"Well, that's better than nothing. We'll have one of our sketchers try to draw a photo of itfit. Thanks for those new pieces of information, Kenmochi. You were of great help."

Shiena felt so warm inside to be praised by Chitaru, but it cooled down quickly when she noticed Tokaku's icy gaze on her.

"So you really don't know who the ripper is, huh? Even though they are the one who framed you?" Tokaku asked.

Shiena remained quiet for a moment. Part of her really wanted to tell them the whole truth about Otoya, but deep down, she knew that she was doing the right thing. For the greater good.

"If I knew, I wouldn't have spent weeks trapped in that hellish asylum," Shiena simply replied.

May this lie allow her to uncover everything about Black Guild.

* * *

Otoya got out from the shower, feeling so warm and relaxed. There was nothing better than a hot shower after a rough day of hard work. Cleaning up Shiena's whole apartment had been more exhausting than she thought, but it was worth it, given the priceless prize she got her hand on.

After drying up, Otoya put on her bathrobe and headed for her room, where her reward was waiting for her. She stepped inside and walked towards her bed, looking at the bag lying there. She opened it and let its contents fall on the bed: a brown hoodie, a black t-shirt, and a cheap bra and panties. All belonging to her dear and sweet Shiena.

Otoya knew Shiena would have noticed if she simply took these from the laundry, so she got the idea to simply do the laundry so her girlfriend wouldn't notice the missing items. Then she thought it would be a good idea to clean up the whole place, just to make the act more convincing.

She removed her bathrobe as she sat on her bed. Otoya then grabbed the hoodie and softly caressed it, before putting it on. The inside was so soft and it smelt so good, Otoya felt like she was being embraced by Shiena.

She then took the t-shirt and brought it to her face, taking a deep breath to smell it. She could smell Shiena's cheap deodorant, smelling like... baby powder? Lavender? She wasn't quite sure, as well as her sweat. It smelt so good, but it wasn't enough.

Otoya always had a poor sense of smell. She was able to distinguish good or bad smells, but that was pretty much it. Every flower had the same scent, same for women. They all smelt good, but there were no differences in their scent, nothing special.

But Shiena was different. There was something so intoxicating with her scent, so unique, so special. She didn't just smell good- she smelt _supe_r good.

Otoya grabbed the bra and pressed it against her nose, sniffing it deeply. She could perfectly picture Shiena's soft breasts, remembering the feeling in her hands and the sensation of her cute nipples in her mouth. She shuddered in desire at the memory.

She then took Shiena's panties and took a deep breath to smell her delicious aroma. It smelt so good that Otoya felt she could get drunk just smelling it.

As she continued to smell her girlfriend's womanhood, her own was starting to get warm and wet. She found no reason to resist her urges and reached for her center, roughly rubbing her aroused pearl as she continued to smell Shiena's panty. She had never been so wet while masturbating. Shiena truly was unique.

Her precious flower that she will never let go of.

_Ding dong._

Otoya stopped. Who could that be, so late in the evening? She was tempted to simply ignore it and continue her business, but she thought that perhaps, it could be important. And if it wasn't, well, she'll have to punish whoever dared to interrupt her sweet pleasure.

Otoya got up and removed the hoodie and put bag Shiena's clothes in the bag, which she slipped under her bed, before she licked her fingers clean. She put her bathrobe back on and headed for the front door, which she hurriedly opened.

What awaited her was an unexpected yet welcome surprise.

"Hey, Otoya… I hope I'm not bothering you. Sorry for coming unannounced."

Shiena was standing in front of her. Her and her sweet fragrance. Why smell some pieces of clothing when you can smell the source directly? At that thought, Otoya smiled.

"Don't worry, Shiena-chan. You'll never be a bother to me and you'll always be welcome here. Now come on in!"

Shiena smiled back, in a shy and somewhat nervous way, as she stepped inside. Otoya closed the door behind her and gently brought Shiena closer to her, softly stroking her hair.

"What brings you here all of a sudden?" Otoya asked.

"Do I really need a reason to visit my girlfriend?"

Otoya smiled at that as she caressed Shiena's cheek.

"You're right. But we both know you do have a reason, don't we?"

Shiena looked tense for a moment and looked down. Otoya knew that look. It was the look of someone who was hiding something. Shiena then raised her head and stared at Otoya with an indescribable expression.

"I know what you did, Otoya."

Otoya knew that most people would feel a rush of adrenaline right now, their heart racing, worried that whatever they were hiding had been discovered. But Otoya never felt such a thing in her entire life.

"What did I do, Shiena?"

Shiena remained stoic for a moment before a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"You cleaned up my apartment while I was gone. Thanks, that was really nice of you."

So she hadn't noticed the missing clothes. Good.

"No need to thank me, I just thought you needed a break."

"You're the one who deserves a break. Didn't you tell me you were exhausted and needed some comfort?"

As she said that Shiena got closer to her, her hands gently rubbing her back.

"I thought you'd still need it… some comfort… and maybe even a reward."

Shiena's hands were now slipping under her robe as she stole a brief kiss. Otoya never saw Shiena like that, flirting and teasing. Shiena looked far too innocent to be the type to seduce someone like that, but somehow, this fact just made it even more arousing.

"Then I shall humbly accept this gift," Otoya said as she suddenly grabbed Shiena and lifted her, bridle carrying her to her bedroom.

Otoya gently put Shiena on her bed and removed her bathrobe, completely naked without an ounce of shame. Shiena blushed at that sight which made Otoya chuckle.

"Now, let's unpack this present."

Delicately, Otoya removed Shiena's t-shirt and her sweatsuit pants, pleasantly surprised to discover that she was wearing no underwear. Shiena was just lying there in her most natural state, naked and so vulnerable, and _hers_. Otoya licked her lips with anticipation.

"O-Otoya," Shiena mumbled shakily.

"Shh, everything will be okay, Shiena-chan."

Otoya was now on top of her girlfriend, taking her time to admire her body. Otoya had nothing to envy from Shiena, yet she still viewed her as so beautiful. Such pure, smooth and flawless skin, so soft to the touch. Otoya didn't lose any time and pressed her own breasts on Shiena's, burying her face in her neck to smell her. So it was true, smelling directly from the source was even better. Otoya could already feel her center dripping wet.

She then felt Shiena's hand softly caressing her back, her gentle fingers brushing her skin, making her purr… Then Shiena's hand reached her rear, lightly squeezing her butt. Otoya was surprised by this gesture but didn't make any sound. She didn't do anything when she felt Shiena's hand going lower, caressing her thigh near her crotch, probably feeling how wet she was.

"Shiena-chan being so naughty right now…"

"I just want… to repay you. You always bring me so much pleasure, I want to be able to do the same for you. Is that okay?"

Shiena looked so cute and adorable, almost begging to pleasure her. Otoya didn't see any issues with that. Sure, nobody ever managed to make her come, but she was able to reach her climax with Shiena. So perhaps she will finally be the one to bring her to paradise?

"Very well then. Show me what you've got, Shiena-chan."

As she said that, Otoya grabbed Shiena's shoulders and switched their positions, her girlfriend now on top of her. Shiena immediately blushed, both from arousal and from embarrassment.

"You like what you see?" Otoya teased.

"Y-Yeah. You truly are… beautiful."

Otoya chuckled at the compliment. Even if she was used to those, hearing them from Shiena felt better. Because unlike all the other women, Shiena saw her for the real her, not just her meat suit. She could see her soul, yet she still loved her, she still viewed her as beautiful. But Otoya knew she was ugly on the inside, but she didn't care, as long as Shiena thought she was pretty. Shiena, on the other hand, was truly beautiful on the inside.

Otoya never thought inner beauty could be so valuable, even more than outer beauty. But superficial beauty was meant to fade away and eventually rot, just like flowers after they bloomed. But inner beauty, your soul, may never fade away and always remain beautiful. The world was full of ladies with a pretty face, fated to become ugly and embittered. But girls with a pure heart are rare, they are the true gems of this world. Shiena was one of them, an eternal blooming flower that may never fade away. She shall never be cut as long as she remained blooming. And she shall remain _hers_.

"You seem to be staring a lot at those," Otoya said as she touched her bosom. "Wouldn't you like to touch them?"

Shiena seemed to tense and her breathing became stronger. She really wanted to touch them, but she was nervous. Otoya found this pathetically adorable. Gently, she took Shiena's hand and brought it to her breast. Shiena's face immediately turned red and her hand froze. Otoya softly caressed it and encouraged it to explore her breast. When she felt Shiena's hand lightly squeezing her breast, Otoya realized it and let her continue on her own. Shiena softly cupped it, caressed it, rubbed the tip with her thumb. She then cupped the second one with her other hand and started gently massaging them.

"Mmm… do you like them?" Otoya purred.

"Y-Yes… I… I love them! They are so… beautiful… big… so soft…"

"I bet you want to do more than just touching them with your hands, huh?"

Shiena looked at Otoya in the eyes and for a moment, seemed like she was hesitating. Shiena then got her face closer to Otoya's chest, kissing it, before she started licking the tip and softly sucking on it. Her other hand was still cupping the other breast, teasing the tip.

"Mmm… yes… good girl," Otoya said as she pet Shiena's head.

She then softly started to push Shiena's head to gesture her to go down. Shiena obeyed and went lower, kissing Otoya's stomach on her way there, until she reached her center. Shiena then looked up to stare at her girlfriend, as if she needed her approval. Otoya simply smiled and nodded, and Shiena got to work.

Otoya could feel her soft and warm tongue on her sex, performing miracles on her, and Shiena's soft and fluffy hair brushing her thighs. She never felt that way when being given oral, no matter how good the giver was. Otoya had never been able to come without taking away the life of her partner. But she had no desire to kill Shiena. Hurt her, maybe, but not kill her. She was so much more valuable alive. And as long as she remained that way, she'll be allowed to keep her life.

"Mmm… ahhh… yes… you're doing good, Shiena-chan. You sure know how to pleasure a lady with that tongue of yours," Otoya said between two moans as she grabbed Shiena's hair. "You better not stop, Shiena."

Shiena's tongue immediately became more frantic and Otoya was overwhelmed by a carnal pleasure she had never experienced before. She instinctively pulled a little on Shiena's hair and heard a weak cry, but she didn't bother with it. Shiena was still bringing her so much pleasure and that was all that mattered.

"Uuuhhh…. ahhhh….. mmmm… I'm close… I'm so fucking close… I'm coming!"

Otoya's nails were now digging in Shiena's scalp as she came powerfully. She pressed Shiena's face against her honey pot. It was out of the question that Shiena left as long as she hadn't finished climaxing.

Her legs still shaking, Otoya finally released Shiena's head as her body became limp. She had never experienced such a strong orgasm in her entire life. Not even when she killed all those women. She was left panting and gasping, so blissful and pleased. If Heaven existed, she was sure she reached it tonight. All thanks to Shiena.

Otoya raised her head to look down at the brunette. She was lying there, between her legs. This sight was so erotic and sent another rush of blood towards her center. But after this strong climax, she wasn't ready for another one. But she knew someone who deserved one.

Otoya sat up, gently petting Shiena's head.

"You did a good job, Shiena-chan. Now sit on my lap, it's time for your reward since you were such a good girl."

Shiena weakly rose up, panting as if she was trying to catch up her breath. Her face was covered with Otoya's love juice. She sat on her girlfriend's lap, who immediately kissed her, savouring her own taste in Shiena's mouth, before licking her face clean.

"Spread your legs now," Otoya ordered.

Shiena looked like she was hesitating for a moment before she obeyed. She spread her legs and Otoya got a great view of her precious spot. She then wrapped one arm around Shiena to bring her closer to her and kissed her breasts and sucked on them. A soft moan escaped Shiena's lips, which pleased Otoya. Her free hand started to go lower, brushing Shiena's rib cage, until it reached her crotch. Otoya grinned when she discovered how wet her girlfriend was.

"You're such a naughty girl, Shiena-chan. Getting so wet just from eating me out. Did you like my cunt that much?"

Otoya wasn't actually expecting Shiena to reply as she started to roughly rub her pussy, vigorously fingering her clit. Shiena immediately started moaning louder as she clenched onto Otoya to keep her balance. Otoya started to move her fingers faster, pleased with Shiena's reaction.

"You really love that, huh? You love my fingers, don't you? You're even shaking your hips like a bitch in heat!"

"N-No… it's… it's you I love!"

Hearing those words filled Otoya with pure joy. Shiena's love made her feel stronger and more powerful. She knew Shiena was hers and those words just confirmed her ties to her. In a way, it was even comforting.

"Tell me how much you love me, Shiena."

Otoya's fingers slipped inside Shiena, rubbing against her walls. Shiena let out a strangled moan as she clenched even tighter to her girlfriend.

"I… I love you… I love you so much! I keep thinking about you- I want you so much. I love you!" Shiena let out between moans.

Otoya grinned in satisfaction as she fingered Shiena at a quicker pace, penetrating her while teasing her clit with her thumb. She buried her face in Shiena's neck, smelling her. Such an intoxicating smell, and it smelt even better now. If Shiena smelt that good, she wondered how good she must taste.

Otoya didn't lose any time to discover it and suddenly bit Shiena's neck. Her girlfriend let out a cry of pain and surprise, while Otoya didn't stop fingering her.

"Ahh… O-Otoya?! That… that hurt…!"

Otoya didn't listen to Shiena's pleas. Her pain and pleasure were hers to decide, and she'll learn to appreciate both. Otoya's teeth dug deeper in Shiena's flesh, who started to shiver.

"S-Stop… please… it hurts!"

Blood finally started to bead from her bruised skin, not a lot, but enough to satisfy Otoya's thirst. She lapped hungrily at the few drops of blood, her fingers moving faster between Shiena's legs. The brunette was sobbing softly while still moaning, a delicious mix to Otoya's ears. Shiena's hips were shaking like crazy- she was close to coming.

"Come for me, Shiena. Come from my fingers!"

Shiena's grip on Otoya became stronger, she even dug her nails in her back, not that it bothered Otoya. Shiena uttered a powerful moan of ecstasy as she finally came, clawing at Otoya's back. Her entire body became tense as she was overwhelmed by her climax before it suddenly when limp. Shiena fell on Otoya, panting and gasping, her face soaked with tears. Otoya couldn't resist but lick them before she gently laid Shiena down in bed. Otoya laid next to her, licking her wound clean before she covered them both with her blanket.

"You did good, Shiena-chan. Thank you. I really needed that," Otoya praised her.

"I… I love you…" Shiena said weakly.

"I love you too."

Otoya gently hugged her girlfriend from behind, spooning her, while burying her face in her hair to savour some of her sweet scents.

Falling asleep holding a breathing woman was better than she thought.

* * *

**Well, things got heated huh? I hope you enjoyed it.**


	28. Guilt

Her neck still hurt. Shiena stretched her tie a little, the collar of her shirt brushing her sensitive skin. She tried to give it some space so the fabric wouldn't touch the wound.

She wasn't sure how she felt about what happened last night. All of this should only have been an act for her, a way to gain Otoya's trust. But part of her couldn't deny that she did enjoy it. Otoya's kiss, her smell, the way her breasts felt, her taste, her fingers touching her… Yet part of her also felt violated.

"What you got under your collar?" Tokaku suddenly asked.

Shiena jolted and turned back, to discover the blue-haired girl looking at her suspiciously. Shiena immediately released her tie and looked away. Shiena was back in the AKA office.

"N-nothing!" Shiena replied nervously.

Tokaku remained stoic for a moment and Shiena thought that she would let it go but, suddenly, her coworker grabbed her collar and opened it a little, revealing a bite mark on her neck.

"What's that?" Tokaku asked with what appeared to be concerns.

Shiena immediately slapped Tokaku's hand away and recoiled.

"N-none of your business!" Shiena exclaimed.

"Hey, what's going here?" Haru suddenly asked.

Great, miss nosey was now part of the conversation. Could things get even worse?

"Kenmochi got bitten, and judging by the mark, it was by a human," Tokaku explained.

"Huh? Shiena-san, who bit you?"

Shiena suddenly felt embarrassed to answer the question, but she felt like those two won't give up easily.

"It was… my girlfriend…"

"What?! Your girlfriend bit you?! What kind of maniac would do that-"

"Tokaku, don't kink shame her!" Haru immediately scolded her.

Shiena blushed furiously of embarrassment while Tokaku looked confused for a moment until she blushed too.

"You mean-" Tokaku began to say.

"No need to elaborate on it!" Shiena interrupted. "That's my private life and it doesn't concern you!"

Both Tokaku and Haru remained quiet for a moment while Shiena felt ashamed. She didn't want to get mad over that, nor to have her sexual life exposed like that.

"A-anyway, I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Haru said. "Could it be this friend of yours? You know, Takechi-san?"

Shiena felt her heart skip a beat. She did like Haru and considered her an important friend, nonetheless, she should really learn when she should just shut up.

"Who's Takechi?" Tokaku asked, immediately suspicious.

"Oh, Takechi? Isn't it your girlfriend, Kenmochi?" Chitaru said as she joined them.

Great, now all of the secret "Anti Black Guild" club was reunited to talk about her sex life. Things could get worse after all.

"Y-yeah, her… she's uh… kinky," Shiena mumbled.

"Ohhh," Haru said with a glimpse of interest in her eyes.

"Too much information," Tokaku commented.

"Mhm," Chitaru said as she nodded, but she obviously didn't understand what it was about. "Well, if you're done, it's time to get back to work."

Shiena looked around. It has been weeks since the last she came here, it almost felt like an eternity. It felt like something- no, someone, was missing, though.

Then it came in a flash and Shiena panicked.

"Banba! Where is she!?" Shiena exclaimed.

When she said that, Haru looked worried too. They both knew about Mahiru's secret and were supposed to do something about it, but unfortunately, Shiena got arrested right after… And then with everything that had happened, she completely forgot about Shinya.

"She stopped coming to work right after you got… uh, arrested," Chitaru started to explain. "I asked Hanabusa what was going on, and she told me Banba got into an accident and was taking a break from work. I tried to ask for more details, but I didn't want to pry too much."

Shiena found this awfully suspicious. So Banba would have disappeared right after she tried to kill her, probably to avoid getting arrested. Yet if it was the case, why would Sumireko pretend she had an accident? Unless she really did have an accident. If it was the case, it was, in a way, a good coincidence. This way, they won't have to worry about Shinya killing people and Shiena could have a chance to talk to Mahiru.

"Anyway, I've got work to do. See you later for lunch, okay?" Chitaru said.

"Seeya!" Haru sang back.

As they were about to split up to go back to their respective desk, Shiena and Haru exchanged a quick glance, knowing that eventually, they will have to talk about the Banba problem and come up with a solution.

* * *

Shiena wondered why she came here. Guilt perhaps? Or maybe it was by a sense of duty. Regardless, here she was, walking through the corridor of a hospital.

She stopped by a room and, with some hesitation, stepped inside.

Shiena was expecting to only see the patient, but there was someone else with Suzu. By her side was a woman with black hair tied in a side ponytail with light-blue bespectacled eyes. When she saw Shiena she flinched, as if she was caught red-handed. Shiena immediately became suspicious of this mysterious woman.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Shiena asked, defensive.

"I should be the one asking that," the black-haired woman retorted as she readjusted her glasses. "I'm Kaminaga Kouko, Suzu's wife. Who are you and what do you want from my wife?"

Now it was Shiena's turn to feel caught red-handed. Chitaru did mention that Suzu had a spouse, but she wasn't expecting a woman. Strangely, her voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember where she heard it.

"M-my name is… Kenmochi Shiena… Shutou used to be my psychiatrist."

"Oh, Kenmochi…"

"Huh? You know me?"

Kouko went silent for a moment as if she was cursing herself.

"From the news. You're the one who was unfairly accused of being a serial killer, right?"

"Ah, right… Well, Shutou was my psychiatrist when I was put in an asylum, and… she saved me. It's thanks to her if I'm free now. I'll eternally be grateful to her. Your wife… is a hero to me."

Mixed feelings appeared in Kouko's eyes. It looked like pride but also… guilt?

"She sure is," Kouko said with a sad smile. "The police told me… she got shot because she was linked to some investigation. Is that true?"

Shiena was tempted to tell her the truth, but she knew she couldn't. Plus, it would put her in unnecessary danger.

"All I can say is that your wife saved a lot of lives, including mine. She truly is a hero."

Kouko seemed satisfied with this answer, which somehow made her look even more remorseful.

"Suzu… truly has a good heart," Kouko mumbled.

"She sure does. I kinda feel bad, as if it was my fault if she got shot…"

When she heard those words, Kouko stepped towards Shiena and softly took her hands into hers.

"Trust me, it's not your fault, Kenmochi. Suzu made her choices while fully knowing the consequences. Don't torment yourself over that."

Shiena felt somewhat comforted by those words yet she felt like Kouko meant something else too, like she was hiding something from her.

"I… I should leave you two together, I should go…"

As Shiena was walking away, Kouko suddenly stopped her.

"W-Wait!" Kouko exclaimed. "Could you… give me your phone number? In case I have… more questions. Just to stay updated about my wife, you know?"

Shiena knew she should refuse, but she felt bad for Kouko and guilty for what happened to Suzu, so she simply couldn't say no.

"Sure," Shiena said.

They both exchange numbers. Shiena put away her phone and gave a friendly smile to Kouko.

"It was nice meeting you. I wish you a good evening, Kaminaga."

"Same here, Kenmochi," Kouko replied with a weak smile.

Shiena nodded and, with one last glance to Suzu, left the room, feeling more guilty than ever.

* * *

"Sorry, I'm late! Thanks for waiting," Haru said as she sat down, putting her strawberry milkshake on the table.

Sitting in front of her was Shiena, who got herself a coffee. It was black, but she had sugar and milk near her to make it up to her taste.

"It's fine, I just arrived too," Shiena lied. She had been waiting for at least 20 minutes.

Shiena glanced at her coffee. A black coffee, just like those Otoya liked… Overtaken by curiosity, Shiena took a sip of the dark beverage and immediately winced.

"Too bitter?" Haru asked.

"Yeah… I'll add some milk."

Shiena poured milk in her coffee, enough to give it a light brown colour. As she was about to add some sugar, Shiena decided to try it without first. She took a sip of her milked coffee, expecting to be repulsed by the bitter taste, but she was pleasantly surprised.

"So?" Haru asked.

"It's still bitter, but how can I say it… it's still has a soft taste. Like milk."

"Ah, I see. Me, I can't stand bitter tastes. I'm all about sweet. I need the sugary taste."

Well, that does fit her personality somehow.

"I'm not a fan of sweets, I've always been more into salty stuff," Shiena admitted.

That also somewhat fit Shiena's personality.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Haru asked innocently, sucking on her straw.

"About Banba, obviously."

"Oh, right! Um, well, Hanabusa-san did say Mahiru-chan had an accident and can't come to work for a while."

"And you believe her?"

"Well… yeah? I mean, I don't know why Hanabusa-san would be lying about that."

"What if she's covering up for Banba's murders?"

"Why would she though? She's the leader of AKA, isn't her job to catch serial killers? Why protect one?"

That was a good question. It didn't seem logical yet, Shiena continued to have doubt on Sumireko. Then, an idea suddenly popped up her head.

"Hanabusa seems really close to Banba. What if they are… you know, together?"

"Together?"

"Yeah… as a couple, or something like that. If Hanabusa loves Banba, then perhaps she would have cover for her being a killer and help her to hide."

"Hmm…. I don't know, I don't really feel comfortable with accusing Hanabusa-san of unprofessional behaviour."

"Trust me, even the most honest and lawful people can lie and break the law for love," Shiena replied.

"Hm, you might have a point. But still, I don't want to jump to conclusion too soon, you know?"

"Yeah… Well, that's only the best option."

"Huh? There's another possibility?"

Shiena hesitated to answer. It was something she had kept secret from AKA, even those who knew about Black Guild. She wasn't sure who she could trust, but she had faith in Haru.

"Yeah… I believe there is a traitor in AKA," Shiena revealed.

Haru gasped and nearly choked on her strawberry milkshake.

"What!? Why?!"

"Because… right after I told AKA I thought Jackie was a woman and that there was no sperm found on the victims, the next victim had sperm inside of her. Somehow, Jackie knew we were suspecting her to be a woman, and this is why she put sperm in her victim, to deceive us. And this fact alone is proof that there is a traitor in AKA who leaked information to her, or rather, to Black Guild."

Haru looked horrified by this possibility.

"So you mean… someone we view as a friend meant actually be an enemy? Or even Jackie herself?"

"No, not Jackie."

"How could you be sure of that?"

Because she knew who Jackie was and was even dating her, but of course, she couldn't tell that to Haru. But she couldn't make Haru believe Jackie was hiding among them in AKA, either.

"It would be too risky, even for her," Shiena simply said.

"Ah, yeah, you must be right… But still, a traitor among us? How could that be… who do you think it is- wait… Hanabusa-san!?"

"Yeah… Well, I wouldn't say I'm completely convinced Hanabusa is the traitor, but it would make sense. She could have protected Banba in the hope she joins Black Guild, unless she's already part of it. And the fact she didn't give the benefit of the doubt about Black Guild to Chitaru makes it looks like she's trying to hide the fact that this group exists."

"... That actually… makes sense. And I'm not sure how I feel about that."

They both remained silent for a few minutes, awkwardly sipping their respective beverage.

"A-anyway, I'm pretty sure we can trust at least Tokaku and Chitaru-san," Haru said.

"Of course."

"So maybe we should tell them about the traitor?"

"Hmm… I don't know… Azuma is already so suspicious of everyone, I don't think it would be a good idea to tell her there's a traitor. She would probably overreact. And Namatame is obsessed with Angel Trumpet; she might think the traitor is them and overreact too."

"True, but… I feel bad to keep it from her, you know? She's my girlfriend after all. But you're probably right. I won't tell them. For now."

Shiena felt terrible. The only reason why she didn't want those too to know is that she felt like it would make her look suspicious. The fact she hid it for so long would totally make her look like she was hiding something- which she totally is.

The sound of an empty sucking broke the silence. Looked like Haru was done with her drink.

"Well, it seems like there's nothing we can really do regarding Banba," Shiena said. "The best we can do is keep an eye on Hanabusa and be careful to not tell any sensitive information to people we don't fully trust."

Haru simply nodded to that as she rose up, tossing her empty glass in the garbage.

"Well, I'll go back. I have plans with Tokaku," Haru said.

"Oh, nice."

Haru then gave her a wink.

"Are you going to see Takechi-san?"

Shiena immediately blushed as her heart started racing.

"M-maybe…"

"I can't believe you hid that from me! Next time we go to a café together, you better tell me everything! I want to know how you two ended up together," Haru said enthusiastically.

"Haha, sure…"

Haru then left the café, while Shiena felt even more guilty from keeping so many secrets. But she continued to believe that in the end, she was right.

She chugged the rest of her coffee (which was cold now) and left the café, trying to ignore the guilt that was eating her from the inside.

* * *

Shiena had the worrying surprise to discover that her door wasn't locked. She immediately felt a rush of adrenaline as she hesitantly grabbed the handle and pushed the door open, before stepping inside her apartment.

There was an uninvited guest sitting on her couch as if this place belonged to her. Shiena sighed with annoyance but also relief. If it was anyone else she would have burst in anger, but she knew she had to play along.

"Hello, Otoya…"

"Hey, Shiena-chan! You're finally home."

"I'm pretty sure that when I left I locked the door."

"Aww, silly Shiena-chan, you know locks mean nothing to me."

"... Right. Well, if you want so badly to enter my apartment, I could just give you a double of my key."

"Really? That would save me some trouble, thanks!"

Shiena sighed again. Otoya could truly be oblivious when she wanted, which Shiena was pretty sure was just an act. She was doing that on purpose.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Shiena asked.

"We're girlfriends, right? _Su casa es mi casa_."

"I'm pretty sure the saying is '_mi casa es su casa_' but okay."

"Whatever. Just wanted to surprise you cuz I love you. Do I… bother you?"

Otoya looked hurt, but Shiena could hear some threat in her voice, like something bad would happen if she said no.

"O-of course not!" Shiena replied nervously. "I'm always happy to see you. I love you."

Otoya looked satisfied by her answer and smiled cheerfully as she pat the couch.

"What are you waiting for? I got a surprise for you, my dearest!"

Somehow Shiena felt worried. With some hesitation, the brunette sat next to her girlfriend and noticed a bag at her feet.

"What's that?" Shiena asked.

"Hehe, let me show you!"

Otoya brought the bag to her laps and revealed its content: various types of potato chips, popcorn and other candies.

"I thought some Netflix and Chill would be welcomed, with some of your fav snacks," Otoya exclaimed enthusiastically. "Since you seemed tense these past few days I thought it could ease up your mind. Am I not thoughtful?"

"That… actually sounds nice," Shiena replied, surprised. "But I don't have Netflix-"

"I do," Otoya interrupted her as she pulled out her phone. "Does your TV have a Chromecast?"

"Huh, yeah…"

"Sweet."

Otoya turned on the television and cast Netflix from her phone on it.

"It's surprising for someone of our generation to not have Netflix though," Otoya commented.

"I ain't gonna pay monthly to watch movies and shows when you can find there free somewhere else."

"So you're basically a pirate. Gotcha. Not judging. We all break the law in our own way, right?" Otoya said with a complicit wink.

There was a big difference between being a computer pirate and a serial killer, but Shiena didn't think it was relevant to point this fact.

"So, watcha want to watch?" Otoya asked.

"Um, I'm not sure… did you have any ideas in mind?"

"Any live-action with heavy special effects and CGI."

"Huh… well, we could watch a live-action adaptation of an anime."

"Sure."

They looked through the vast selection of the Japanese Netflix and finally found a movie they were both interested in. As the movie started Otoya gently hold Shiena's hand, who had opened a potato chips bag, determined to find some enjoyment in this forced activity.

As the movie continued Shiena started to feel a little bit sleepy. She blinked for a moment and when she opened her eyes, she was lying down on something warm and soft. The movie was still playing but Shiena must have missed some part of it. She was feeling a hand gently caressing her hair and she instinctively purred at this contact. Then she realized with embarrassment that she was lying on Otoya's lap.

Shiena could smell a sweet scent from where she was. Was Otoya aroused? That wouldn't be surprising. But surprisingly, so was Shiena now that she realized that.

She didn't dare to say anything and simply remained on Otoya's lap, enjoying her soft caresses as they finished the movie. Without even realizing it, Shiena was rubbing her thighs together. Otoya seemed to have noticed since she suddenly stroked Shiena's thigh.

"Oh, Shiena-chan, don't tell me an action movie made you all hot and bothered," Otoya teased.

Shiena blushed, too ashamed to answer. She simply sat up and looked away, embarrassed.

"N-no… being with you is what aroused me," Shiena replied.

Otoya smirked at that comment as she suddenly pinned Shiena on the couch. The brunette didn't protest- she knew it was going to happen at some point.

Her girlfriend didn't lose any time and removed Shiena's shirt and looked surprised.

"Oh, a bra today?"

"I… I usually wear one!" Shiena replied.

Otoya chuckled as she removed her bra, exposing her small yet soft breasts. Otoya licked her lips with hunger as she removed her own shirt, revealing that, unlike Shiena, she wasn't wearing a bra. Her delicious bosom was all exposed for Shiena's eyes, who certainly wouldn't complain. Otoya leaned down to kiss her on the lips, before leaving soft kisses on her neck, then her breasts.

"Mmm… they smell so good. And I could never get tired of their softness," Otoya said as she rubbed her face between Shiena's boobs.

Shiena gasped when she felt her hands on her hips, slowly going down until they reached her pants. Carefully, Otoya removed her bottom as she started to go lower, leaving a trace of kissing on Shiena's belly. When Shiena felt freed from her panties she immediately felt Otoya's warm breath on her sex, abandoning herself to this sweet yet also sinful carnal pleasure.

* * *

For the first time, Shiena didn't feel regret or shame when she woke up next to Otoya in her bed. Maybe perhaps a slight feeling of guilt, but nothing more. In fact, she somehow felt proud of herself and somewhat satisfied, in a way.

Otoya was still sleeping. Shiena didn't feel like waking her up, and it wasn't by consideration. She just didn't feel like dealing with her psychopathic girlfriend for now.

Shiena put on some clothes and headed for the kitchen, needing a coffee to start her day. She walked through the living room, sighing as she contemplated the cleaning she'll have to do later. But, at least she did have an enjoyable evening.

Before she could step inside the kitchen, she heard knocking at the front door.

Shiena froze for a moment. Never in her life did she have so many people knocking at her door than since she joined AKA. Why did everyone suddenly think it was okay to come to her apartment unannounced?

She sighed. She was tempted to ignore it, but the knocking continued. Reluctantly, Shiena headed for the front door.

Shiena stopped when she reached the door, hesitating to open it. She suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

"Who's there?" Shiena asked.

No answer, and no more knocking. Perhaps it was just some prankster who likes to knock and then run away. Though, doing that at an apartment's door seemed pretty odd. Wouldn't it be better to do that at houses?

As she was about to walk away, a sudden loud knock made her jolted. She stared at the door as her heart started to race.

"Who's there!?" Shiena asked with more insistence.

Still no answer but the knocking continued. It wasn't just a prankster. Whoever was behind that door was possibly dangerous.

The brunette put the chain lock and, with some fearful hesitation, slightly opened the door.

Through the small opening, Shiena couldn't see anyone. She also thought that it was too small for whoever knocked to be able to attack her.

Suddenly, a hand holding what appeared to be a gun slipped in the gap and, before Shiena could do anything, pulled the trigger.

The shot was silent. Shiena felt pain in her chest as she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dunnn!**

**Who's the mysterious person who attacked Shiena? And more importantly, will Shiena-chan be okay!?**

**Btw, Otoya's hobby is tokusatsu, which are live action films or television drama that makes heavy use of special effects.**


	29. Jealousy

Shiena always thought that when she died, she would see her life pass before her eyes. Or even see some light at the end of a tunnel. But there was none of that right now.

Lying on her back, Shiena simply felt her body becoming numb. She felt no pain but she could barely move her body. It was like she was completely paralyzed.

She used all her remaining strength to raise her head to at least see who attacked her. She could see a dart poking out of her chest. The door was still ajar, with the chain lock still in place. Then suddenly, the same hand slipped through the gap and grabbed the chain, unlocking it. As the door opened fully, Shiena's body stopped obeying her and her head returned to the floor.

Shiena could hear footsteps coming closer to her. She would be shivering in pure fear if her body wasn't so numb. Even her heart wasn't beating that hard despite the terror she was feeling. She didn't know how it felt to die, but right now she was pretty certain that what she was feeling was quite close.

The footsteps stopped. Shiena didn't dare to try raising her head again, too scared to face whoever assaulted her. Instead, she managed to gather some more strength to roll on her belly and started to crawl on the floor, desperately trying to get away and reach her bedroom. But her muscles stopped listening to her quickly and she fell flat on the floor. She barely managed to move 3 metres away. All she could do was roll back on her back and face her attacker.

She couldn't believe who she saw standing in front of her, holding a gun… that looked like a tranquillizer.

"...You…!?"

"Long time no see, Kenmochi-san," Hitsugi replied with a childish smile, looking around. "Looks like someone had a little party all by herself. So sad. Anyway, your pathetic attempt of escape was quite entertaining, but now it's time to get down to business."

As she said that, Hitsugi got closer to Shiena and crouched near her, still smiling innocently. Shiena couldn't believe what was happening. Hitsugi shot her? Why?

"You must be wondering why, huh, Kenmochi-san? I'm afraid you won't have the time to learn, given that the poison should finish you off soon."

When she heard that Shiena's heart skipped a beat and Hitsugi started to chuckle.

"I'm just kidding," Hitsugi said with cruel amusement. "It's just a harmless muscular relaxer. You'll be fine… well, unless I do something else to you."

Hitsugi suddenly straddled Shiena and sat on her belly. She may be small, but her weight still made it hard for Shiena to breathe.

"...Why?"

"You should know why. Come on, Kenmochi-san, I heard you were quite smart. I'm sure you can deduce why I did that."

Shiena really didn't have a clue. Why would Chitaru's wife suddenly attack her and break into her apartment?

…

Of course. Why didn't she think of that sooner? It all made sense now.

"You… Namatame…"

"Yes, my wife. What about her?" Hitsugi asked with something dark in her voice.

Shiena remembered the talk they had in the mall when Hitsugi tell the story of Icarus and the sun. It was a threat. A warning to stay away from the sun- her sun. Chitaru.

"You… you… were jealous?"

"Jealous of what?" she insisted.

"...Of me… being close to Namatame."

"Why would I be jealous? Unless… there's something between you?"

Hitsugi wasn't smiling anymore. Despite her childish appearance, she looked quite threatening.

"N-no… she's just… my superior… we're coworkers-"

"Don't lie to me. I noticed the way you look at her. You have your eyes all over her, ogling her. You admire her, desire her, _love_ her. And that is unforgivable."

Hitsugi grabbed Shiena's collar, slightly pulling on it as she glared at her.

"W-wait…! There's…. there's nothing between us… our relationship is… strictly professional…!"

"Then why did you look like you were about to kiss her? Why did she come to your apartment? And why does she keeps talking about how great you are?"

"... Namatame said I'm great?"

Hitsugi pointed the gun at Shiena.

"Wrong answer."

"S-stop! I mean… yeah, I like Namatame, but… I would have made a move on a married woman! I swear!"

Hitsugi didn't look convinced at all and was still staring at her with murderous intention. Shiena suddenly remembered what event she was talking about. Not so long before the new year, she met Chitaru outside and almost kissed her, before getting caught by Hitsugi. And then, not so long after, Shiena got framed for murder…

She got it now. She understood what truly happened that night of New Year's Eve.

"You… you did this to me…" Shiena mumbled weakly.

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"That night… you… you knocked me out… and brought me to that corpse… to frame me!"

Hitsugi looked surprised for a moment before she smirked.

"Well, you are actually smart. Yes, it was me. I drugged you and dragged you to the crime scene to make it look like you were Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century."

Even if Shiena already had a doubt she was still shocked to hear those words.

"B-but… why?"

"Isn't it obvious? I had to keep you away from my wife. No one can touch my beloved Chitaru-san other than me. She belongs to me! I simply couldn't forgive you for leering my precious wife. I had to get rid of you, of the nuisance you were. For the sake of my love and my marriage!"

This girl was nuts. A true-life _yandere_. If she was ready to go to such length just out of petty jealousy, who knows what she could do to her next.

"You… you're part of Black Guild… aren't you?" Shiena suddenly said.

This time, Hitsugi looked genuinely surprised.

"Well well, it seems like you're even smarter than I thought. Too smart for your own good actually."

Hitsugi then smiled awfully sweetly like there was something venomous behind it as she softly caressed Shiena's cheek.

"What makes you think I'm part of this 'Black Guild' you're talking about?"

"The boss of Black Guild… framed me as a favour… to a friend. I suppose you're that friend."

Hitsugi paused for a moment, looking concerned before she smiled again and pet Shiena's hair.

"I didn't know that trash viewed me as a friend. I don't know if I should take it as a compliment or an insult. But regardless, it seems that you know way too much, which begs the question: what should I do with you now? I just wanted to bully you a little to scare you off from my wife, but maybe I should consider getting rid of you in a more drastic way."

Hitsugi released Shiena's collar and opened up her tranquillizer gun and added another dart inside.

"This time, it's real poison," Hitsugi said coldly as she aimed at Shiena.

"Who the fuck are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?"

Hitsugi froze for a moment before she stood up. Shiena didn't even need to turn back to know who it was.

"O-Otoya… help…"

"Girlfriend huh? Well, that's quite a shocker. Here I thought Kenmochi-san was a desperate virgin obsessing with my wife, but it appears that she's actually a dirty cheater."

"Cheater? You still haven't answered my question! Who are you and what have you done to Shiena?" Otoya insisted.

"I'm Kirigaya Hitsugi, Namatame Chitaru's wife, and I was just here to teach your girlfriend a lesson about not stealing."

"Namatame-san… oh, Shiena-chan's boss! What about her?"

"Haven't you listened to what I just said? Kenmochi-san is having an affair with my wife."

"Huh? Shiena-chan, is that true?"

"N-no! She's… she's crazy! I never- She's nuts!"

"Very well then. I'll believe you," Otoya replied. "I happened to hear something quite interesting before I left my room. So apparently you're that friend Kuzunoha talked about. The one who used me to frame Shiena."

Hitsugi remained quiet for a few seconds before she smirked.

"Oh, I see who you are. You're Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century. Does Kenmochi-san know?"

"Of course she knows."

"Wow. Kenmochi-san is fucking a serial killer! I didn't think she was that type."

"And you, let me guess. You were that poisoner who used to be part of Black Guild, am I right?"

Hitsugi looked tense but continue to smile.

"Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. It's indeed me. But I left a while ago and I'm not an assassin anymore. I left the group to fulfill my dream and marry the woman I love. I had an arrangement with Kuzunoha. She agreed to give me a favour to get rid of Kenmochi-san. Now I know why she agreed so fast. I guess she also viewed Kenmochi-san as a nuisance, given her influence on you."

"Damn Kuzunoha…" Otoya replied between her teeth. "Always such trash."

"Anyway, now that I know Kenmochi-san isn't a lonely virgin, I suppose I can let you handle her unfaithfulness. Let's make a deal. I won't tell the police about who you truly are and that Kenmochi-san is covering up for you, and in exchange, you won't tell Chitaru-san about my past. Deal?"

"And why couldn't I just kill you right now?" Otoya replied threatfully.

As a reply, Hitsugi pointed her gun at Shiena.

"Because otherwise I'll poison your dear girlfriend, and only I know how to make the antidote. Your choice."

Otoya seemed to hesitate for a moment before she grinned.

"Okay. We won't say anything, but if you do, be sure that I'll kill Namatame. Now get out of my house!"

Hitsugi grinned back as she headed for the front door.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Jack-san. May we never meet again."

And on those words Hitsugi left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Otoya remained silent as she gently took Shiena in her arms and lifted her from the ground. She then headed for the bedroom where she delicately laid her girlfriend down on the bed.

"O-Otoya… thanks-"

"Is that true, what the midget said? Are you cheating on me with Namatame?"

Shiena froze. Otoya didn't seem particularly angry, but she did look quite cold.

"O-of course not! I told you! There's nothing between me and Namatame!"

Otoya remained quiet as she climbed on the bed to straddle Shiena.

"I believe you. Not because I trust you, but because I know you're a shit liar," Otoya said emotionlessly.

Shiena started to feel some fear rising in her. Otoya wasn't bothering to wear her mask and the brunette felt like it might be a bad sign. It was a hard reminder that her girlfriend wasn't the nice girl she pretended to be: she was a cold-blooded killer.

"But you find her hot, right? Namatame," Otoya added. "Don't lie to me, Shiena."

Shiena felt like it was a trick question.

"Y-yeah… Namatame is… pretty… and handsome…"

"And sexy, right?"

"Uh… yeah…"

Shiena felt like she was on death row. Otoya raised her hand and Shiena flinched, awaiting the coup de grace. But instead, Otoya smiled as she sweetly brushed Shiena's cheek.

"I mean yeah, she's hot as hell! Have you seen those huge tits? And that ass? I'd fuck her anytime. Well, if I didn't already have my dear Shiena-chan that is to say."

Shiena wasn't expecting that. It was such a relief to hear those words. Looked like she'll live to see another day.

Otoya yawned and laid down next to her before she put the blanket above them.

"I didn't get enough sleep. It's quite early for me. If you don't mind, I'll go back to sleep," Otoya said as she spooned Shiena.

It didn't seem to take long for Otoya to fall back asleep as Shiena heard her snore softly. Shiena wasn't sure if she wanted to go back to sleep but then again, she was paralyzed, so it wasn't like she had many options. She sighed, resigning herself to extend her slumber as she closed her eyes.

However, she had a bad feeling of deja vu.

* * *

_There was no more colour around her. She was back in this white hell, trapped and cut off from the rest of the world. Lying on the floor and restrained by a straitjacket, Shiena could barely move, let alone stand up. She was just like a turtle stuck on its back, helpless and vulnerable._

"_Kenmochi-san," called a soft and angelic voice._

_Shiena managed to raise her head and was almost blinded by a halo of light. Stretching her wings was an angel in front of her. But despite her innocent and benevolent appearance, Shiena could feel that this angel wasn't what she appeared to be._

"_It's time for your medication, Kenmochi-san."_

_The angel looked more sinister now. Even her smile was now dark and even cruel. Her wings turned black like ebony and her halo fell. She was a fallen angel- an angel of darkness._

_She opened her hand and revealed what she was holding: pills. Shiena immediately started to panic as she remembered what those did to her._

"_N-no… please… anything but that!" Shiena begged._

_But this angel wasn't the merciful type. She was totally unaffected by Shiena's plea. She even seemed to enjoy it. The angel walked towards her and straddled her. She tried to force Shiena's mouth open but the brunette refused to cooperate. It was totally out of the question that she swallow those damn pills!_

"_Well, in that case, I'll give your meds differently. I hope you're not afraid of needles, Kenmochi-san," the angel with her golden eyes glowing with sadism._

_The angel pulled out a syringe and before the needle hit Shiena's chest, it turned into a dart._

"NO!" Shiena screamed.

When she opened her eyes she was welcomed by pure darkness. Her chest was hurting like hell and she started to gasp, having difficulty breathing.

"Shiena-chan? What's going on?"

Shiena suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and instinctively reacted by slapping it away.

"Anything but that! No more drugs! Please, I'm begging you, stop!"

"What drugs? You need to calm down, it's just me-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Shiena pushed away whoever was trying to pin her and punched them in the face.

"Ouch!"

Shiena was suddenly blinded by a bright light and everything seemed white around her. Another wave of panic immediately overwhelmed the brunette as she closed her eyes in terror.

"I don't want to go back there! Don't bring me back there! Please leave me ALONE!"

Someone grabbed her wrists before she could punch again and pushed her down. Shiena tried to struggle but whoever it was, they were much stronger than her.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"Shiena, calm down."

The voice was surprisingly calm and even soothing. There were no traces of anger or aggression, yet neither compassion. It was just a soft, emotionless voice.

Shiena dared to open her eyes and was surprised to see Otoya straddling her, blood dripping from her upper lip. There was no emotion on her face- she was simply staring at Shiena.

"O-Otoya…?" Shiena mumbled weakly as tears started to bead from her eyes.

"Does your chest hurt?" Otoya asked calmly.

"Y-yeah…"

"Difficulty breathing?"

"Uh… that too, yes…"

"I see. I get what's going on."

Shiena on the other hand had no clue what was happening. But when Otoya smiled kindly at her, it felt like her problems were just melting away.

"Everything is going to be okay, Shiena-chan. I'm here with you. You have nothing to worry about. I'll protect you."

Somehow, Shiena was tempted to believe her. For once she felt like Otoya was behind honest with her. Or perhaps she was just desperate for any shred of comfort, even coming from a monster. Not that it mattered- she just needed it.

"Now tell me, what made you panicked? Did you have a nightmare?" Otoya inquired.

"Y-yes… I was… back there."

"Where?"

"The… the asylum. The white room, this… _white hell_."

"Oh. Solitary confinement."

"And they fed me… pills… They told me they were… antipsychotics, but… they weren't. It was drug. They forced me to take those. They tried to make me think that I was… crazy. The pills… made me hallucinate. I really thought… I was insane, that I really killed… those women… that I was… evil..."

Tears started to roll on Shiena's cheeks as she remembered the horrors she went through.

"Whenever I tried to resist, they tazed me… and they put me in a straitjacket. And then… they beat me up… until the lawyer you hired saved me… you… you saved me from that hell…"

Shiena broke down into tears as Otoya fondly hugged her.

"Shhh, it's okay now. You're not there anymore. You're with me. Safe. I won't let anything bad happen to you again. I promise."

Shiena felt Otoya's hands gently rubbing her back and she abandoned herself to this sweet, sinful comfort. Otoya was just like a demon with an angelic face.

…

Angel.

She wasn't the only angelic person around her who was hiding her horns as Shiena understood the missing piece she was looking for.

* * *

Shiena was taking a look at her board in her room. She made some adjustments to it given the recent information she learned. She now knew who this "friend" was, the same person as the "poisoner". So she didn't need two papers anymore. She got rid of the friend one and added a note to the poisoner one.

Then there was this Kuzunoha person Otoya mentioned. From what she understood they must be the boss of Black Guild, so Shiena had added their name on the boss paper.

She would have liked to discuss this with Otoya, but as soon as her girlfriend left in a hurry, saying that she had some business to take care of.

Her phone suddenly vibrated and Shiena picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Kenmochi, it's me, Namatame."

Shiena felt her heart accelerating. After her misadventure today, she nearly forgot who was the cause of it. Even if she had no knowledge of it, Chitaru was the reason why she got attacked today, and framed before. And after what she learned today, Shiena wasn't sure if she could face Chitaru.

"Oh, hey, Namatame…"

"I'm just calling to check up on you. You weren't at work today so I got worried. Is everything okay?"

Crap. With everything that happened, she did forget to show up at work.

"I… I was… sick," Shiena replied. "But don't worry, I made some progress on my own here."

"Oh? What kind of progress?"

Shiena glanced at the board, more precisely the poisoner paper.

"You remember… when I mentioned that Angel Trumpet might be part or had been part of Black Guild? I think… they still are. I don't think they quit or died, I'm pretty sure they are still active and well."

Silence. Shiena suddenly felt worried that it might have been too much for Chitaru. After all, she seemed determined to bring Angel Trumpet to justice, perhaps even for a personal reason. Then much to her relief, she heard Chitaru's voice.

"What makes you think that?"

"Angel Trumpet is a specialist in poisons and can poison their targets in various ways. I know one of them is to shoot a poisonous dart to the victim with a tranquillizer gun. Well, the night I got framed, I'm pretty sure I got shot with a dart. Sure I wasn't poisoned, but I'm pretty sure a poisoner would also be knowledgeable about other types of toxins and drugs. Angel Trumpet might have been silent these past few years for some reason, but they are still there, working for Black Guild, and framed me because I knew too much."

Again, another silence. Then, Shiena heard a soft chuckle, but not of joy, it sounded… bitter, and even a little bit dark.

"I see. So this miscreant didn't bite the dust after all… yet. Then I can do it. I'll bring them to justice once and for all and give them what they deserve!"

Shiena felt a sudden heartache. It pained her to keep the truth from Chitaru, but she knows she can't say it. If she does, then her secret relationship with Otoya will also be revealed.

But still, how is she supposed to keep it from Chitaru that her own wife was the very person she was tracking down for years? That the person she loved was and still is a ruthless and remorseless killer?

It hit too close to home. Chitaru was just like her. Obsessed with a murderer yet secretly in love with them. Shiena had been obsessed with Jackie for so long without realizing that she was the woman she loved all along. The woman that, despite all that, she still loved…

It was unfair to not tell Chitaru, but she had to. So Shiena kept quiet as tears of regret rolled down her cheeks, burning with remorse.

"Please, Namatame… be careful. Angel Trumpet might be closer than we think and… could hurt you."

"Don't worry, ever since I started tracking them, I have been really careful with everything I put in my body. I always check everything I eat or drink."

"That's good-"

"The only person I let cook for me is my wife."

Less good. No, not good at all.

"Namatame…!"

"I gotta go. Thanks for the update, Kenmochi. Hopefully, you'll feel better tomorrow."

Chitaru hung up the phone. Shiena immediately cried in guilt, knowing that her lies put Chitaru in danger.

And yet she still chose to lie, and not for the greater good.

It was because, deep down, she truly loved Otoya.

* * *

Otoya slammed the door of the bar open. At this hour, there was barely anyone inside, aside from half-passed-out drunkards. It was the perfect time to strike.

"Oh, Takechi-san? You here for a late drink?" Nio said with a smirk.

Otoya didn't even deign humour Nio as she grabbed a stool and threw it towards her. Even if she was clearly not expecting that, Nio effortlessly dodged the sudden attack.

"My, my, Takechi-san, what warrants this rather aggressive visit to my bar?"

Again, Otoya remained silent as she grabbed a bottle of beer and smashed it on a table, wielding the remains as a weapon.

"I've never been in a bar fight before so I figure it was time for me to add it to my resume," Otoya replied.

Nio grinned at that comment.

"You really have a death wish huh, Takechi-san."

"I should be the one saying that. Didn't I warn you to not try anything against Shiena? I'll show you what happens to anyone who dares touch what's mine!"

Otoya didn't even let Nio reply before she rushed towards her, ready to tear her open. Nio jumped in front of the bar, holding a knife.

"Did you really think I would be a bartender without at least something to defend myself? This is far from being my first bar fight!"

Otoya swung her broken bottle and tried to rip off Nio's face, who quickly recoiled. She then tried to slice Otoya with her knife and only missed by a single millimetre. The latter then raised her improvised weapon and tried to smash it on Nio's head, but before she could she felt a sharp pain near her ribs.

Nio had managed to slash her. She then punched her in the face before sending her to the floor with a kick. Otoya groaned in pain as she collapsed to the ground.

"Did you really think a mere serial killer such as yourself could stand a chance against me?" Nio taunted.

Otoya could feel blood dripping from her injury. She touched it and discovered that the cut wasn't too deep. Regardless, if she moved too much it might worsen.

"Well, I did expect you to be stronger than you looked," Otoya replied. "That's why I wasn't foolish enough to come alone."

Part of the wall suddenly violently collapsed. Someone came out of the hole, holding a sledgehammer.

"Well, you sure took your time, Shinya-san."

Banba grinned madly, putting the sledgehammer on her shoulder.

"As you can see, I brought a friend along-"

"Banba-san?" Nio suddenly said.

Shinya stopped smiling.

"Huh? Ya know me? Wait… aren't ya that annoying reporter who keeps bothering da police?"

"Hi hi, that's me! Hashiri Nio-chan, journalist by day, bartender by night!" she said cheerfully as she struck a cute pose. "And you are Banba Mahiru-san, right? Hanabusa-san's assistant. You seem… different."

"The name's Shinya. Mahiru is there during the day, I'm here the night," Shinya replied as she imitated Nio's pose.

"Please, don't indulge her," Otoya said as she stood up.

Nio put the knife down and poured herself a drink.

"So the rumours were true. Banba-san truly is nuts. I guess you two make a good pair then," Nio said as she sipped her drink. "So, what do I owe the pleasure? Did something happen to Kenmochi-san?"

"Don't play innocent. You sent this assassin to kill her, don't you?"

"I know a lot of assassins so you gotta be more specific-"

"Kirigaya Hitsugi."

Nio's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she smiled.

"No idea who that is-"

"Namatame Chitaru's wife. You know, the AKA agent? So now tell me, why is Angel Trumpet married to a secret agent? And why did she attack my girlfriend?"

Nio stopped smiling and her expression turned cold.

"She's the 'friend' you were talking about, right? The one who asked you that favour, to frame Shiena for my murder. And you sent her to finish the job, didn't you!?" Otoya accused.

Nio remained silent for a moment then takes another sip of her drink before she sighs.

"So Kirigaya-san did it again huh… Seriously this girl. Love sure makes one crazy…"

"What are you talking about? Why did you send her to attack Shiena!?" Otoya insisted.

"Don't you get it? She attacked Kenmochi-san of her own free will. I didn't send her to finish the job- she tried to finish the job herself."

Otoya was about to snap at Nio and call her a liar, but the truth came to her like a flash. Nio wasn't lying and she understood what it was really about.

"Kirigaya… she asked that favour to get rid of Shiena… because she was jealous. She thought that Namatame was cheating on her with Shiena," Otoya said.

"Bingo! I simply agreed because, at that time, I also wanted to get rid of Kenmochi-san. But given that she _somehow_ managed to prove her innocence, Kenmochi-san is back, and Kirigaya-san was less than pleased. So it seems that she took matters into her own hands."

It actually made sense. Nio, as annoying as she was, was telling the truth for once. But there was still something bothering her.

"You might be right about that. But there's still something I don't get. Why would you allow someone to leave Black Guild? And more importantly, why would this someone end up marrying an agent of AKA?"

"Kirigaya-san made us an offer that we simply couldn't refuse. Trust me, she's more useful to us now than she used to be."

"What offer?"

Nio grinned with all her teeth.

"Isn't it obvious? Kirigaya-san never left Black Guild. She simply temporarily stopped being an assassin. Right now, she has a far more valuable role in our organization."

Nio finished up her drink and put it on the counter.

"When the right time will come, she'll be the one who will get rid of our greatest threat. She will kill Namatame Chitaru."


	30. Love you to death

The day was about to arrive again as it always did every year. But before then, a far worse day was there to torment her once again.

Without much motivation, Shiena got dressed and left for work. As usual, she stopped by the café nearby to buy a coffee. She winced when she saw the red and pink decoration everywhere, as well as the heart pin the employee was wearing. Even the cup was red with the drawing of a little cupid on it.

She sincerely hoped that nobody would make such a big deal of today's date at work. After all, she was working in a secret agency tracking down serial killers, so what were the chances that someone would bother with-

"Happy Valentine's Day, Shiena-san!" Haru exclaimed cheerfully.

As soon as she stepped inside Shiena was almost assailed by Haru, who was excessively dressed in red.

Looked like Shiena had been wrong.

"Hi, Ichinose…"

"Shiena-san, why are you dressed like that!?"

"Huh… it's my office suit…?"

"No silly, you should have at least put a red tie! It's Valentine's Day!"

Shiena sighed. Of course Haru would be the type to be excited about Valentine's Day like a kid during Christmas.

But she wasn't expecting to see at least half of the employees wearing a red item. It just felt a little bit too jovial for people investigating gruesome murders. But, Valentine's symbol being literally an organ, perhaps it was fitting after all.

"Sorry, I have nothing red at home," Shiena pretended.

"Aww, that's too bad… Hey, Tokaku!"

Shiena turned back, for once glad to see Tokaku, hoping that she might find a comrade who wasn't all crazy about Valentine's Day.

And once again, she spoke too soon. Tokaku was wearing a red tie with pink hearts on it.

"Azuma, not you too!" Shiena exclaimed.

"... uh, what?" the blue-haired replied, confused.

"Nothing. Anyway, better get to work," Shiena replied, trying to get out of the conversation.

"Hey, good morning!"

Chitaru joined them, wearing a pink tie. At least it wasn't as flashy as Tokaku's, but it was still annoying to see.

'Nice tie, Azuma," Chitaru teased.

"I know right? I bought it for her!" Haru replied with a bright smile.

"Figured," Chitaru said.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Haru asked. "Tokaku and I are going to the movie theatre together!"

"As usual, I'll just have a nice dinner with Hitsugi at home," Chitaru said.

Shiena winced when she heard that name, a reminder of what happened to her because of that person and of her many lies.

"And you, Shiena-san? Anything planned with Takechi-san?" Haru asked with a wink.

Shiena would have hoped that Haru wouldn't have brought up Otoya, but once again she was proven today that hoping was a bad idea.

"Not really… I don't think Valentine's Day is her thing," Shiena replied, evasive.

"Really? And here I thought she was the romantic type," Haru said.

"Hopefully she won't bite you again," Tokaku added.

"Tokaku!" Haru reprimanded.

"Huh? Bite?" Chitaru questioned.

"N-nothing! I have work to do, bye!"

Shiena quickly walked away and headed for her desk, already feeling like today was going to be a long and tough day.

* * *

Shiena wished she could have spent the rest of the day like any other day. It wasn't like there was anything special about Valentine's Day, anyway. It was nothing more than a commercial holiday meant to make people buy stuff they don't even need. An unnecessary day named after a martyr that had nothing to do with love or chocolate.

She might keep telling herself that, but there was another reason why Shiena disliked Valentine's Day. Well, more like two reasons, and the rest was simply some justification instead of admitting the truth.

Shiena really thought that Otoya wouldn't care about Valentine's Day, but it appeared that once again she was wrong. When she arrived at her girlfriend's house after the latter asked her to come, she was welcomed by an Otoya dressed in an overly sexy cupid costume.

The brunette was at a loss of words, simply staring at Otoya.

"Hehe, like what you're seeing?"

"... I suppose you do like Valentine's Day after all, huh," Shiena simply replied.

"Why wouldn't I? It's the perfect day to catch up with some cutie for the night, if you know what I mean. Not that I need to anymore cuz I got the cutest girlfriend now."

Shiena couldn't help but blush. Otoya can be so sweet sometimes…

"And it's also a day named after some priest who got tortured and decapitated so that's pretty neat, too."

… Of course. How could she have forgotten that Otoya was a morbid psychopath?

"What are you waiting for? Come on in! I want to spend this special day with my special someone," Otoya said with a bright smile.

And she was back to acting all sweet and cute. But Shiena was used to it so it didn't bother her. She simply went inside and removed her shoes.

Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

The warmth and soft smell of lavender were so soothing and comfortable. Shiena felt like she could just lay there forever, letting herself float in the water, fondly embraced by her lover.

It would have been better if her lover wasn't a serial killer, but, hey, nothing is perfect.

Lying in her bath, Shiena felt for once that she could just relax. Otoya was sitting behind her, hugging her. Not only was the water comfortable, but she also had the privilege of lying on Otoya's big and soft breasts.

"What do you think of this bath salt, Shiena-chan? Its fragrance is lavender."

"It's really… relaxing. Do you like lavender?"

"Not particularly. I don't really have a good sense of smell, but," Otoya took a pause to sniff Shiena's hair, "I love the way you smell."

Shiena blushed at that comment.

"How do I smell to you, Shiena-chan?"

"Huh? Oh, uh… good, I think. Somehow… comforting. Like flowers."

"I see."

Otoya suddenly kissed her neck, which elicited a soft moan from Shiena. Otoya's hand then gently caressed her back before she started to rub her chest softly with one hand. With her other one, Otoya grabbed the soap and started to wash Shiena, making sure to clean every part of her body. The brunette never knew that getting bathed could feel so good and… sensual.

"Your skin is so soft and smooth- I love touching it. I love touching you..."

As she was caressing her ribcage, Otoya then went lower, brushing her thighs before her hand slipped between Shiena's legs.

"... Especially this place."

Shiena gasped when she felt Otoya's fingers suddenly rubbing her slit. Definitely, this day was better than what she initially expected.

* * *

Gently bridal carrying Shiena, who felt rather dizzy, Otoya brought her to her room and delicately laid her on her bed. All the warmth and intense pleasure had nearly made Shiena pass out in the bath. She was left panting, trying to cool down. Good thing that Otoya was there to get her out and dry her off, before wrapping her in a towel and bringing her back to her room.

"Well, we could say that it was pretty hot, right?" Otoya said with a smirk.

Shiena didn't even deign to humour her, too exhausted to do so. Otoya laid down next to her while giving her some space, probably to not make her warmer than she already was.

"Did you enjoy it though?" Otoya asked.

"Y-yeah, it felt… quite good."

And she wasn't lying. She always thought that sex in a bath was just some fantasy scene in crappy romance movies, but it was actually something real and quite pleasant. It was the first time she actually spent a nice Valentine's Day.

"I… I never really liked… Valentine's Day," Shiena admitted.

"Oh? Why?"

"... Nobody really paid attention to me during that day. My parents never did anything special for me, I never had an actual Valentine, and sometimes… people send me valentine's cards just to make fun of me and bully me and it completely overshadowed my- Anyway, let's say that this day leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

Shiena wasn't expecting any sympathy from Otoya but still, her girlfriend softly grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

"Not anymore, Shiena-chan. I'm here now. I'll make sure that from now on, all your Valentine's Days will be great. You have my word."

Shiena couldn't help but smile back. She knew Otoya was a pathological liar but somehow, she believed her. She trusted her.

"Thank you, Otoya."

Otoya left a soft kiss on her cheek which made Shiena's heart race.

"Hey, do you still have the gift I gave you for Christmas?"

"The silver heart pendant? Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing, I was just worried that you might have… gotten rid of it."

"Never. I love it. Even though… I'm pretty sure you stole it from one of your victims…"

"Absolutely not! I'm not that cheap you know- I bought it with my actual money. As if I would give you something belonging to one of my victims…"

"Well, you did send me a human heart."

"That was just a joke," Otoya brushed it off.

Shiena didn't find it particularly funny to have received a human heart that was later used to incriminate her even more, but she didn't say it out loud. She knew it would be pointless to say those words to Otoya, who wouldn't feel any regret regarding that anyway.

"Speaking of that, isn't it funny that the symbol of Valentine's Day is a heart? Why does a heart represent love? The heart is just an organ that pumps blood through your body. It has nothing to do with love or any feelings. Love is a chemical reaction created by the brain."

"Well, I guess that a brain symbol wouldn't look as good and romantic as a heart. It wouldn't sell well."

"True."

"Hearts aren't so bad, but the cupids… I understand that Cupid was the god of love in Roman mythology, but still, why did cherubim get associated with cupids? Do you know what a cherub actually is?"

"Uh… little naked baby angel in a diaper?"

"No. In the bible, cherubim are a type of angel. They are a monstrous being with four faces and multiple wings. All angels are actually eldritch monsters full of wings and eyes and covered in fire…"

"Wow, those angels actually sound pretty badass! Better than a naked baby. Well, I guess that for a certain group of people, they might prefer the naked babies."

Shiena chose to not comment on that.

"I'm glad you had a good day today, Shiena-chan. I only wish for your happiness."

Otoya sounded surprisingly sincere. Shiena wondered why a selfish monster such as her would care for another human being. Could it be that she actually loved Shiena?

"_No, it can't be. She's a psychopath! And a sadistic murderer. People like her can't love!_"

And yet, Shiena's heart wanted to believe that Otoya truly loved her. Was it really impossible for psychopaths to feel love? What was love anyway? Nothing more than a chemical reaction? Or was it more complex than that?

"I love you so much, Shiena-chan."

"I love you too, Otoya," Shiena replied instinctively.

Otoya then glanced at the clock before she suddenly kissed Shiena on the lips.

"Happy birthday, Shiena-chan."

Shiena froze for a moment before she turned back to look at the clock.

It was past midnight.

"How did you know… that February 15th was my birthday? I never mentioned it and it isn't even on my Facebook."

"Hehe, let's just say that I have my sources."

Shiena didn't insist. She hadn't celebrated her birthday for ages. What was the point anyway? Her parents never made a big deal of it, and without friends, there was no point in celebrating. When no one ever told you 'happy birthday' then your birthday became just like any other day of the year.

"You didn't want me to know?" Otoya asked.

"Uh… not really. Let's just say that I'm not really fond of birthdays in general, especially not mine… And given that it's right after Valentine's Day, people tend to forget anyway."

"Well, I would never forget it."

Even if it didn't matter to Shiena whether people remember or not, Otoya's words still touched her.

"Thank you."

"I even got into the trouble to get you a present!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully.

"... Not another human organ I hope…"

"Of course not! A joke isn't funny anymore if you repeat it. No, I have something even better!"

Otoya got up for a moment and came back with a little rectangular box wrapped in colourful paper.

"Here, open it!" Otoya said with a bright smile.

Shiena remained a little bit doubtful. But it didn't look like this box was big enough to contain a human body part. With some hesitation, she grabbed the gift and unwrapped it before opening it.

Inside the box were two tickets.

"I remember you telling me you liked this series and wanted to see one of their official plays, so here you go! Are you pleased?"

Shiena continued to gaze at the two tickets. They were for a play adaptation of an anime Shiena really loved. It was true that she wished to be able to see it and now she finally had the chance, thanks to Otoya.

"So, do you like it-"

Shiena replied by immediately kissing Otoya on the lips.

"I guess that's a yes," Otoya said with a grin.

"I love it! Thank you so much!"

Otoya then kissed her back.

"You're welcome. The pleasure is mine."

Then suddenly, Otoya gently pinned Shiena against the bed.

"Now that you got your birthday kiss, how about we move to the main course? The birthday sex."

Shiena didn't find any reason to protest when Otoya opened up her towel and exposed her nudity. Who would have thought that those two days she always dreaded could actually be nice?

And it was all thanks to Otoya.

* * *

Once again, Shiena was awakened by a delicious aroma. When she opened her eyes, she immediately noticed Otoya's absence. Obviously, given that someone was cooking in the kitchen. Shiena stretched and yawned before she got out of bed. She grabbed a pair of jeans and some t-shirt before she left the room, heading for the kitchen.

As expected, Otoya was there, cooking something on the oven. She looked away and smiled when she noticed Shiena.

"Good morning, Shiena-chan. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did, thanks… what are you cooking?"

To answer her question, Otoya flipped something in the stove.

"Pancakes!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully. "Sit down, I'm taking care of everything."

Shiena did as she was told and sat down at the table. It didn't take long for Otoya to bring a plate full of pancakes with two coffees. As usual, Otoya took it black. Shiena put some milk and cream in hers but no sugar.

"Do you take your pancakes with maple syrup or chocolate syrup?" Otoya asked.

"Ah, maple syrup."

Otoya grabbed it from the fridge before she sat down too, taking a sip of her coffee as Shiena put some syrup on her food.

"Thanks, by the way. For everything you did for me. I couldn't have hoped for a better day," Shiena said sincerely.

"No need to thank me. I'm just being a good girlfriend, that's all."

Deep down, Shiena thought that perhaps there was some kind of trick, but decided to not think about it for now. Right now she was just hungry and she just happened to have tasty-looking pancakes in front of her. She sliced it up and started eating, and so was Otoya.

It was just a perfect and calm breakfast with her girlfriend.

When she finished the last piece of pancake, the doorbell rang. Before Shiena could get up, Otoya quickly stood up.

"Stay, I'll go see who this is."

She didn't even give Shiena the time to answer before she walked to the door and opened it.

"Oh, what a nice surprise!" Otoya exclaimed cheerfully. "Come on in!"

Shiena really wondered who that could be. She turned back to discover two of her coworkers stepping inside.

"Ichinose, Namatame!? What are you doing here?" Shiena asked.

As a response, Haru pulled out a party horn and blew inside, followed a shrill noise escaping from it.

"Happy birthday Shiena-san!" Haru exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Happy birthday, Kenmochi," Chitaru said more soberly.

Shiena froze for a moment before she rose up.

"Uh… thanks," Shiena replied, uncertain. "How… did you know it was my birthday?"

"It's written in your files!" Haru replied.

"I hope you don't mind us passing by. We just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and give you gifts," Chitaru added.

"Oh, you shouldn't have-"

"Of course we had to! We are your friends!" Haru protested.

Shiena didn't know how to react. She never really had friends who cared enough about her to celebrate her birthday, much less bring her presents.

"Really… thanks, both of you," Shiena replied, moved.

Haru smiled even more as she pulled out a wrapped box from her purse and handed it to Shiena.

"Here, it's for you!"

Shiena grabbed the gift and unwrapped it, discovering a pair of headphones. They were black with some green and the interior was padded and looked quite comfortable to wear.

"Wow, this is a nice gift Ichinose, thanks!"

It truly was. For someone who was on her computer so often, it was imperative to have equipment that was comfortable and ergonomic.

"I'm glad you like it!" Haru said with a bright smile.

"I have this for you," Chitaru said as she handed an envelope to Shiena.

The brunette opened it and pulled out a birthday card. Inside was a gift card for the nearby library.

"That's such a good idea, thanks, Namatame!" Shiena said.

"I knew you like to read but didn't know what you'd want so I decided to let you choose," Chitaru replied.

"That's so nice of you to come by for Shiena-chan's birthday. She's really lucky to have you as friends!" Otoya said.

"And I'm glad that Shiena-san has such a caring and kind girlfriend," Haru replied.

"Aww please Haru-chi, you're going to make me blush."

"It's nice to see you again, Takechi," Chitaru added.

"Same here. And thanks for taking such good care of my Shiena-chan at work. She holds you at high esteem," Otoya replied with a smile.

Shiena looked away, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Well, we won't bother you any longer. You love birds probably want to spend the day together. Once again, happy birthday, and I wish you a wonderful day!" Haru exclaimed.

"Have a great day," Chitaru added.

"Thank you!"

Chitaru and Haru left the apartment and closed the door behind them. Shiena put their gifts on the coffee table, feeling happy. It felt good to have friends who cared about her.

"Well well, you seem pretty close of those two," Otoya let out.

"Yeah, we are."

"I'm glad. You deserve to have friends like that."

Otoya suddenly hugged Shiena from behind, gently stroking her arm.

"So, how about we just chill at home today? We could do another Netflix and Chill, it was pretty successful last time," Otoya proposed.

Shiena smiled at that idea as she turned her head to look at her girlfriend.

"I'd love that."

Otoya smiled too and the two lovers shared a tender kiss.

* * *

Today had been a great day. If every day could be like today Otoya would be satisfied and fulfilled. Never would she have guessed that just a simple woman would bring her so much joy and pleasure. She didn't know if she could call what she felt for Shiena and frankly, she didn't care. The brunette mattered to her, she was important, and more specifically, useful.

"You seem quite pleased with yourself. I take it that you quite enjoyed yourself with Kenmochi-san. Good."

Stepping inside an alley on her way home, Otoya heard a familiar voice talking to her. She sighed and turned back, forcing herself to smile.

"Oh hi there, Kirigaya-san."

Hitsugi was standing a few meters away from her, smiling.

"Yes, Shiena-chan and I had a wonderful day today."

"I'm glad."

"Was it what you wanted? Is it why you told me that today was her birthday? And how did you know?"

"Chitaru-san told me," Hitsugi replied. "And let's just say that I wanted to be sure that Kenmochi-san stays head over heels for you instead of seducing my wife."

"Ah, you're quite the yandere, aren't you. Well, I respect that. If anyone dared to try to take my Shiena away, I'd kill them."

"Then you understand why-"

"Now, what I don't get is why you are so possessive of Namatame-san."

"Isn't it obvious? She's my wife!"

"Yes, but that's just a cover, isn't it?"

Hitsugi froze for a moment while Otoya's smile grew wider.

"Yes, I know the truth. Kuzunoha told me. You never really left Black Guild, did you? You were sent on a very special mission. To kill Namatame Chitaru. Am I wrong?"

Hitsugi seemed surprised to hear those words, yet she tried to smile but it was obvious that she was nervous.

"I see that there's no reason for me to keep hiding it. Yes, I was sent on a mission to kill Chitaru-san. The plan went even better than expected. I managed to seduce her and make her fall in love with me, and even marry me. I was ready to kill her anytime, but Kuzunoha told me to wait for the right time."

"And when will it be the 'right time'?"

"Don't know, don't care. To be honest, I'm having quite a lot of fun. I mean, Chitaru-san is an idiot but you have to admit, she's dashing. I don't mind playing wife with her for a little bit longer. But I'm ready to end this anytime. Kuzunoha just has to say one word and it will be over for Namatame Chitaru."

"Huh, interesting. Well then, why make such a fuss of Shiena crushing on Namatame-san? It's not like you actually love her- your marriage is nothing more than a masquerade. So why are you being so jealous?"

Hitsugi clenched her fist, looking bothered by what Otoya said.

"It's all for the sake of my mission. If Chitaru-san leaves me for another woman, then carrying out my mission will be harder. I have to remain her wife in order to be certain that I will be able to kill her."

"Ah, I see. Well, it does make sense. And here I thought you actually loved her and would eventually betray Black Guild. I'm reassured to know you're still loyal."

Not that Otoya actually cared to be honest. But it was fun to mess with Hitsugi a little. Payback for hurting her girlfriend.

"And what about you? How did you end up stuck with Kenmochi-san? Is it also a mission from Black Guild?"

"Nah. Shiena-chan chose me knowing fully who I truly was, and I chose her too. I truly love her and she loves me too."

Hitsugi let out a giggle.

"You love her? Really? Such an ordinary and plain girl? Come on, you can do better than that."

"I don't care. Shiena is the most beautiful girl in my eyes and that's all that matters to me."

Hitsugi was now staring at her with disbelief.

"You can't be serious. You think she's beautiful?"

"Well, not specifically here," Otoya replied as she pointed to her face before she then put her hand on her chest, "but here she's the prettiest."

"... Her breasts?"

"No! Her heart. Her soul."

"Now you're making even less sense."

"Let me ask you a question. Would it bother you to break a toy with an expiration date?"

"Not really…"

"But if the toy doesn't have an expiration date? Would you take care of it?"

"I guess so, but what does it have to do with… Oh, I see. You're comparing all those women you killed and Kenmochi-san to toys, aren't you?"

"We could say that. All those other women had an expiration date on their beauty. They were nothing more than a bunch of ladies with a pretty face. But Shiena is different. Her beauty doesn't have an expiration date because her beauty is inside."

"So it's true. You really are nuts."

"I'm not crazy, I'm a psychopath. Do your research."

"You can't make me believe that you actually care about inner beauty!"

"And yet, I do. I never thought that inner beauty could be this valuable until I met Shiena. Her heart is just so pure and honest, so truthful… it truly is beautiful. She's just like a flower that will never fade- an eternal blooming flower. There's no point in cutting a flower that will never rot and become ugly. You have to take care of it, cherish it, and enjoy its beauty as long as you desire."

"Yeah, you're right. You truly are a psychopath. Only a psycho would think like that."

"Poor Kirigaya-san, you'll never get it."

"What do you mean?" Hitsugi asked, annoyed.

"The feeling of being truly loved by someone. Someone who knows the real you yet still shows you unconditional love and accepts all of you and loves you regardless. You're just like me, you're rotten to the core. But unlike me, you have no one who truly loves you. Namatame-san doesn't love you, she loves the person you pretend to be. But if she knew the real you, she would reject you. Because someone like you would repulse her."

Hitsugi looked even tenser as both her fists were now tightly clenched.

"I don't care about being loved. I don't love Chitaru and never will. She's nothing more than a job and I will kill her without a second thought," Hitsugi retorted. "And don't you dare compare me to the likes of you! I'm nothing like you! I'm not a psychopath!"

"High-functioning sociopath then. Anyway, if you're done I'd like to go home, I'm tired. Pleasing your lady is quite exhausting you know, but it's worth it."

Hitsugi's fists finally relax as she forces herself to smile.

"Yes, we're done. Be sure to take great care of Kenmochi-san, because if she tries to seduce my wife again, then expiration date or not, I'll break her."

"Don't worry, Shiena loves me and only me. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't trust Kuzunoha. That girl is always hiding something, everything she does has a hidden purpose. Even if she might look like she wants to help you, she doesn't. She's only serving her own interest."

"And you think I could trust you?"

"Of course not, don't be stupid. I would backstab you anytime if it benefits me. But I'm kind enough to tell you that. Kuzunoha won't. So if she asks you something related to Shiena, don't do it. For your own sake. Let's say I'm not known to be nice towards those who touch what belongs to me."

"And neither am I," Hitsugi replied with a sinister smile. "Good night, Takechi-san."

And just like that, Hitsugi disappeared into the darkness. Otoya ran a hand through her hair and continued to head for her house, smirking to herself as she understood how much of a liar Hitsugi truly is.

"_She's just like me…" _Otoya thought as she grinned. _"But, I'm the smarter one. I'm a much better liar._"

* * *

**Yandere fight! Takechi Otoya vs Kirigaya Hitsugi! Choose your fighter!**

**Try to find the Sherlock reference.**

**Fun fact, psychopaths tend to have a poor sense of smell.**


	31. Needs

**warning: assault and PTSD**

* * *

Everything this evening had been perfect. The play was wonderful, the actors formidable, the music and dance were impeccable, and the songs memorable. Shiena always been extremely critical when it came to theatre, but this time, she found nothing to complain about. It had simply been perfect.

"Well, judging by your expression, I'd say you enjoyed yourself pretty well tonight," Otoya said with a grin.

Her girlfriend was walking beside her, gently holding her hand as they left the theatre.

"Well, yeah, it was one of the best plays I have ever seen in my life. And I've seen a lot."

"To be honest, I never was really into theatre. I'm a movie person, especially those action movies with a lot of special effects. But I gotta say, a play with pretty girls singing while fighting with swords is pretty good too."

"I know, right? We gotta watch the anime together!"

"Hopefully it's on Netflix."

They got away from the crowd to get some privacy and decided to walk home through a backstreet. The temperature was starting to get a little bit chilly and Shiena shivered.

"Shiena-chan, are you cold?" Otoya asked.

"Yeah, just a little… I'll be fine, we don't have much to walk-"

Otoya suddenly removed her jacket and put it on Shiena's shoulders as if she was in some sappy romantic movie. Regardless of how cliché it was, it still made Shiena happy.

"Aww, thanks Otoya."

"No problem, anything for my girlfriend," Otoya said with a wink before she pressed Shiena against the wall. "But if you want, I can warm you up even more."

And just like that, Otoya's lips were pressed against hers. Her hand was softly brushing Shiena's cheek before it ran in her hair and Otoya brought her closer to her. Shiena had to admit that it was true. It was warming her up.

It could have lasted for much longer if Shiena's phone didn't suddenly ring. The brunette was tempted to ignore it, but she knew that the only people who ever called her other than Otoya were her coworkers.

"I gotta take this. It might be work," Shiena apologized.

"Sure, go ahead."

Shiena pulled out her phone and saw that she received a text message from Chitaru.

"_Kenmochi, we caught a serial killer. Please come to the office as soon as possible. We need your expertise._"

Shiena sighed and put away her phone.

"What's wrong, Shiena-chan?"

"It's work. They need me at the office," Shiena replied. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. I'll just go back home and if you're free later you can come join me so we can continue our little fun."

As she said that, Otoya left a soft kiss on Shiena's cheek, who instantly blushed.

"Yeah, I'll take care of that quickly and come back as soon as possible. Seeya and thanks again for the play!"

"You're welcome. See you later."

Shiena returned to the main street and took a taxi and went to the AKA office. When she arrived, she spotted Haru in front of the door, looking awfully anxious.

"Ichinose? Is something wrong?" Shiena asked with concern.

"Oh, Shiena-san! It's terrible! It's our fault- we were too late!"

"Whoa, calm down! What happened? How is it our fault?"

"It would be better if you see for yourself…"

Now Shiena started to get really worried and even afraid. With some hesitation, Shiena stepped inside the office. There was someone shouting and yelling inside and they sounded angry.

"Ya better let me go you bunch of pigs! Or else I'll smash your head open when I get free!"

Shiena froze. She recognized the voice and understood what Haru meant. It was indeed their fault and they acted too slow. They were too late.

"Who would have thought that she was the Demolisher," mumbled an agent under their breath.

Handcuffed to a chair was Banba, who seemed far from happy.

* * *

After she realized that it had been hours since she turned off her phone, Shiena rushed somewhere she could be alone and turned it on, to discover that she had more than 10 missed calls. And they were all from Otoya.

"Shit!"

Shiena immediately called her girlfriend back.

"Shiena-chan! Where are you? Have you seen what time it is!? I was so worried about you!" Otoya exclaimed through the phone.

"Otoya I… I'm sorry. Something came up at work and I had to stay all night. I finally got some free time to call you and tell you I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"Uh… a serial killer got arrested and we are interrogating them. But things got… really heavy. I can't say why for now since I can't discuss an ongoing investigation, but it's really bad. Like, really, really bad."

"Damn, is it like an AKA agent being secretly a serial killer or something?"

"W-what? Of course not! Huh, I gotta go now, seeya later. I promise I'll make it up to you. Bye!"

Technically, she wasn't lying. The killer was indeed part of AKA, but wasn't an agent.

Shiena sighed as she put her phone away. She looked at the clock. She really did spend all night awake at the office. She was starting to feel really tired and could use some help to stay awake. She headed for the vending machine and made herself a coffee. She took a sip, appreciating the rush of caffeine giving her the energy necessary to not collapse.

"Kenmochi-san, may I speak to you?"

Shiena nearly jolted and turned back, surprised to see her boss.

"Oh, Hanabusa! Huh, yeah. Do you need something?"

"Actually, yes. I need your help. I think you are the only person who can save her."

"... Save her? You mean… Banba?"

"Yes. I want you to save Mahiru-san. Please."

Shiena never saw Sumireko like that. Even if she managed to keep her dignified and elegant appearance, Shiena could see how tormented she was. She looked genuinely worried about Banba, as if she truly cared about her.

"Banba is my friend. Of course I'll do everything I can to help her. But I'm not sure how…"

"If Mahiru-san gets convicted of first-degree murder and criminally responsible, she'll end up in jail and possibly executed. And that isn't even the worst part."

"How… something could be worse than that?"

"Yes. Mahiru-san… will be sent to a men's prison I am afraid."

"W-what… why… oh. But, Banba is still a woman! How could they send her to a men's prison? Have they looked at her?!"

"Most people will not care. They will view her as a murderous freak. They will not care what will happen to her next. But I do. And you do too. This is why we need to stop this and save her! Unfortunately I am not allowed to get involved given that I have… a close relationship with her. Conflict of interest."

"I get it. I'll do everything I can, as an expert. But first, I have a question for you."

"What do you want to know?"

"You told everyone that Banba was on a break because of an accident. But she didn't seem injured to me. So where was she truly during all those weeks?"

Sumireko didn't flinch at all at the question. She simply sighed as she put a hand on Shiena's shoulder.

"I wish I knew the answer, I truly do. Unfortunately, I am just as clueless as you on that matter. Mahiru-san sent me a text saying that she could not come to work because of an injury. I did not doubt her given that she has always been honest with me, but now I realize… I made a mistake. I should have been more suspicious and perhaps, none of this would have happened… it is my all my fault…"

Sumireko seemed sincere. Yet Shiena couldn't tell if she was really telling the truth, not that it really mattered. No matter what Sumireko would have answered, it wouldn't have discouraged her from helping Banba. And if Sumireko was actually honest, then Shiena could relate to her. But she knew deep down that it was her fault and thus, she had to fix this.

"It's not your fault, trust me," Shiena replied. "You don't have to worry- you can count on me. What do you need me for?"

* * *

Looking through the one-way mirror Shiena could see Banba in the interrogation room, handcuffed to the table. She was alone and she had some blood on her, and still looked quite pissed.

"How did you catch her?" Shiena asked.

"We found the murder weapon, a large sledgehammer. The blood on it had been confirmed to belong to the last victim and her fingerprints were on the handle," Tokaku replied.

"This blood on her… did she kill someone?"

"No, she just bit one of the cops who arrested her."

"Geez… who would have thought Banba was a psychopath," another agent mumbled.

"She's not," Shiena couldn't help to say. "This is not how a psychopath acts. Anyway, how did the interrogation go?"

"She's uncooperative. She tried to kick or bite anyone coming closer," Chitaru replied. "Damn, Banba… I still can't believe it…"

No one could believe it. Who could have possibly thought that the sweet and innocent Banba could actually be a ruthless serial killer?

Well, Shiena did know, and so did Haru, but that was beside the point. Shiena didn't know what was harder. Finding a way to save Banba or pretending that she didn't already know.

"Let me try to talk to her," Shiena said.

"Why do you think she would talk to you after she literally growled at every other person who tried?" Tokaku retorted.

"Because I know what I'm doing and I'm the expert here."

Tokaku simply rolled her eyes in response. Shiena didn't bother with answering her contempt.

"You have my authorization, Kenmochi," Chitaru said.

"Thanks, Namatame."

Shiena noticed that Haru discreetly glanced at her and the brunette nodded at her, as a way to reassure her, to show her that she knew what she was doing, even if it wasn't the case. Shiena left the room behind the mirror and went to the interrogation room. With some hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside.

Banba raised her head and a sinister grin appeared on her lips when she saw Shiena.

"Ah, Kenmochi. Long time no see."

Shiena remained quiet for a moment as she stepped towards the table. She glanced at the mirror, only seeing her own reflection and Banba's, and sighed. She then looked at the mike and suddenly got an idea. She turned it off and sat in front of Banba.

"Hello, Shinya."

"Ohhh, ya remember mah name. I'm flattered."

"Let's cut the useless chit-chat. You're in deep trouble, you know that?"

"No shit. Ya think you're bringing me some breaking news? Are ya here to gloat?"

"The contrary, in fact. I'm here to save your ass. You and Mahiru."

Shinya looked surprised before she simply shrugged it off with a bitter chuckle.

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. I don't want either of you to get in jail. You know what will happen to you, right?"

"Pff, as if I'm scared."

"So you don't care if Mahiru gets hurt?"

At those words, Shinya became tense.

"That's what I thought," Shiena added.

"... Fine. What da ya want?"

"I just need to speak with Mahiru."

"So ya expect me to just get away and leave her helpless here? No way!" Shinya replied as she looked away.

Shiena sighed. Shinya was more stubborn than she thought but she knew there must be a way to reason with her.

"Please, Shinya, you have to trust me-"

"Why's that? I tried to kill ya, why would ya help us?"

"That is exactly why you should trust me."

Now Shinya just looked confused.

"... How? Ya ain't makin' any sense!"

"Think about it. If I really was a threat for you, I would have already denounced you, which I didn't. Why do you think? Because I consider Banba a friend and I want to help her, but I can't help her if you don't help me first! You're risking the death penalty after years of imprisonment in a men's prison. I'm sure we both want to avoid that, and so does Hanabusa."

"... Sumi… said that?"

"Yes. She's the one who asked me to save Banba. Hanabusa trusted me, and so should you."

Shinya looked away, hesitation in her eyes. She then sighed and glared at Shiena.

"Okay, I'll do it. But ya better keep your word!"

"I promise I'll do everything I can to save Banba."

"If Sumi trusts you, then I guess I should too. I'll let ya talk to Mahiru."

"Thank you."

Shinya closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them back, her gaze had completely changed. She looked around frantically, panicked as she pulled on her restrained.

"W-what… What happened? Where… where am I!?"

Shiena quickly turned on the mike.

"It's okay, Banba. You're in AKA's custody. We just have a couple of questions to ask you-"

"NOOO!" Mahiru suddenly screamed. "Let me go, let me go, let me go, LET ME GO!"

Mahiru was pulling even more on her restraints and the handcuffs started to dig into her wrists, making her bleed. Shiena immediately stood up and rushed towards her.

"B-Banba! Please stop! You're not in danger, you need to-"

Mahiru instinctively tried to kick her and refused to let Shiena touch her.

"No! Stop touching me! I don't want this! Let me go! It hurts!"

Powerless to help Mahiru herself, Shiena turned to the mirror.

"Please, somebody help! She's having a PTSD attack!"

It didn't take long for Chitaru and Tokaku to burst into the room. Tokaku remained on stand-down while Chitaru carefully walked towards Mahiru.

"Banba, please calm down. We're not here to hurt you," Chitaru said softly.

Mahiru continued to pull on the handcuffs and paid no attention to Chitaru. The red-haired girl took advantage of it and discreetly slipped behind Mahiru, who again didn't seem to see her at all. Then, Chitaru quickly grabbed her from behind and stung her with a syringe. Mahiru let out a weak cry before her eyes closed and her body went limp. Chitaru held her to keep her from falling and removed the handcuffs before lifting her in her arms.

"What the hell was that!?" Tokaku exclaimed at Shiena. "I thought you were an 'expert'! And why did you cut the mike at the beginning!?"

For a split-second, Shiena remained frozen. She then stared at Tokaku as she adjusted her glasses.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that reason and I wished it didn't happen that way, but it still proved my point."

"What point?!"

"Banba isn't a psychopath or even a sociopath. She's clearly mentally ill, psychotic I'd say," Shiena replied. "Which means that it's highly likely that she might be judged legally criminally insane and thus criminally not responsible."

* * *

Shiena was exhausted. She didn't sleep all day and had to stay at work all night and day. She just wanted to go home and collapse on her bed and sleep for at least 20 hours. But, she promised Otoya that she'd pass by her house after work to make it up to her. After all, a promise is a promise.

In front of Otoya's house, Shiena let out a sigh. She then took a deep breath and knocked at the door.

"Come in!" Otoya's voice exclaimed.

Shiena turned the handle and pushed the door open. She closed it behind her and removed her shoes before she wandered in the house, looking for her girlfriend.

"I'm here."

Shiena heard Otoya's voice coming from her bedroom. Without much thinking, the brunette hurried to join her. Otoya was lying on her bed, playing on her phone, her room as messy as usual. She then rose her head when Shiena stepped inside.

"Oh, hey, Shiena-chan."

"Hi, Oto-"

"I was so boooored! What took you so long?"

"I… I told you, we caught a serial killer and they needed my… expertise."

"Oh right, you're the specialist in serial killers," Otoya replied with a smirk. "So, who is it? Do I know them? Who knows, maybe it's a friend of mine."

"I already told you I can't discuss ongoing cases. We didn't even tell the public that we caught them yet."

Otoya pouted.

"Not cool. Come on, tell me! I swear I won't tell anyone. Who knows, maybe they are part of Black Guild. I could tell you."

Otoya was insisting. Shiena knew how persistent she could be and would probably not let it go. It was true that Otoya had no benefit in telling others and that perhaps Banba was somehow related to Black Guild. She didn't fit the profile of an actual hitman but it was worth confirming it.

"Do you remember that girl you met when we went to the karaoke?" Shiena asked.

Otoya eyes widened in surprise as she put her hands on each side of her head.

"Don't tell me… Haru-chi is a serial killer!?"

"What? No! I meant Banba!"

"Oh… That cute girl with silver hair huh… I really didn't see that coming. Do you know why?"

"She… she's mentally ill. Probably psychotic with dissociative identity disorder…"

"... Dissociative what?"

"A split-personality. The girl you met is the shy and fragile personality, while the other personality is… aggressive, violent, assertive…"

"Wow, who would have thought Mahiru-chan had a psycho split-personality. How is that even possible?"

"Well, I'd say it's most likely due to childhood trauma. That is the most common cause of DID. I don't know what happened in her childhood, but it must have been awful…"

"And what will happen to her?"

"I can't know for sure… I did my best to prove that she was criminally insane, but she ended up having a severe PTSD attack. Namatame managed to sedate her and she's now detained in a criminal hospital. Her identity should remain hidden until the investigation is done."

"I see. Well, I wish her the best. I kinda like her."

Shiena wondered why. To her knowledge, they only met once at the karaoke. Well, not that it really mattered.

"Well, thanks for passing by, but I should go. I got work to do," Otoya suddenly said as she jumped out the bed.

"Huh? At this hour?" Shiena questioned.

"Not my florist work. My other work."

"Your… oh."

Shiena should have expected this to happen. Otoya was an assassin after all. They may have been dating for weeks now, but she still hasn't forgotten her goal. Spying on Black Guild through Otoya and finding the mastermind. What good would it be if she can't even stop her from killing another innocent person?

When Otoya passed by her, Shiena impulsively grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Hm? Shiena-chan?"

"... Please, don't."

"Huh? Shiena-chan, you know I don't have a choice. If I don't do it she'll just get killed by someone else, and in addition, I'll get killed too for disobeying."

Shiena was forced to admit that Otoya was right. If she doesn't kill that person then she'll most likely get killed and someone else will take the job. If she wanted to continue investigating Black Guild, she needed Otoya alive for now. It was a shame for that poor woman, but sacrifices must be done for the greater good. Or at least it was what Shiena told herself to appease her growing sense of guilt.

"Can you at least… make it quick?"

"You know what my modus operandi is. If I don't do it like I always do then people won't attribute this murder to me. I've been hired simply to make commissioned assassinations look like the work of a deranged psycho. I have to."

"Then just mutilate the corpse after you killed her-"

"The autopsy will reveal that the mutilations were post-mortem and you should know that."

"Then I don't know, drug her so she's unconscious when you kill her-"

"Shiena, enough," Otoya interrupted coldly. "There's nothing I can do and frankly, I don't care. I have a job to do and I intend to do it right. Now if you would excuse me, I have work to do."

Otoya shook away from Shiena's grip and headed for the door. For a moment the brunette thought of simply letting her go, but the overwhelming guilt pushed her to recklessness. She rushed towards Otoya and grabbed her from behind, preventing her from leaving.

"Shiena, let go of me," Otoya said with a calm yet firm voice.

"No! I can't let you do that!" Shiena obstinated.

She heard Otoya sigh softly before she suddenly pushed her away. Otoya then turned back and stared at Shiena, who started to regret her boldness.

"Shiena, listen to me carefully. I know you're a ridiculously overempathetic person with a pure heart and it's why I love you, but you have to listen to your reason instead of your emotions. I know it's hard for neurotypical people, but that's the truth. Unless you want me to die."

That last sentence was said with such a dark tone. Shiena was starting to get worried that Otoya might have realized that she had been manipulating her since the beginning. She had been a fool to think that she could persuade Otoya with feelings and pleas. She knew that the best way to trick a psychopath wasn't with sympathy but with their ego.

"No… it's not that. I'm… insecure, I guess," Shiena suddenly said.

Otoya's cold expression turned curious.

"Insecure about what?"

"That… I'm not satisfying you enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know… You get sexual pleasure… from torturing and killing women. Yet you feel sexual pleasure with me too even though we have regular sex, so I thought… that I was enough for you."

Otoya's expression grew more and more intrigued.

"Of course you're enough for me, that is not the question. This is for work, not pleasure-"

"But you still have sexual pleasure, don't you!?" Shiena suddenly interrupted. "I just feel like it's… cheating, you know? I want to be the only one from who you get sexual pleasure. I want to be the only one to… make you come, and share your intimacy. I thought I was… special to you."

Otoya looked surprised by Shiena's outburst and remained stunned for a moment before she let out a soft chuckle and smiled.

"Aww, Shiena-chan is jelly, how cute," Otoya replied as she gently stroke her cheek. "You are special to me. You do satisfy my sexual needs, but… I have other needs too. Dark and violent needs that you can't satisfy. Sooner or later those needs will overtake me and who knows how I'll act if I don't satisfy them."

Otoya seemed to be sincere, as well as believing Shiena's act. But still, Shiena was confident that she may be able to persuade her in one way or another.

"You can't know until you tried. I know I can fully satisfy you. You don't need all those other women. I'm your girlfriend! I love you so much! I want to be the only girl who matters to you!"

Otoya sighed before she smiled gently.

"Shiena-chan is so needy and adorable. Your love and desire to please me really touch me, but really I can't-"

Shiena didn't let her finish that she jumped on her to hug her and kiss her on the lips. Otoya didn't protest in any way and kissed her back. Shiena felt her arms wrapping around her waist as she pulled her in a close embrace.

"I didn't know you could be assertive," Otoya said with a smirk. "It's kinda hot."

"So… will you stay with me?" Shiena asked, hopeful.

Otoya's smile turned more sinister.

"Of course I will, Shiena-chan."

Out of the blue, Otoya pushed Shiena on the bed and put her hands around her neck. Shiena didn't even have the time to say or even think anything before she realized Otoya was strangling her.

Shiena's throat was hurting and she felt like her head might explode. She tried to beg, to scream, to struggle, but it was all in vain. She couldn't talk and Otoya was too strong.

Was it really how she was going to die? Strangled to death by her girlfriend? Did Otoya understand Shiena's ploy? Regardless of the reason, it didn't matter, the result would be the same.

She would die.

That was the last thought Shiena had before everything got so blurry around her that she couldn't see anything anymore.


	32. Burning Desire

**Warning: assault, mention of non-con, past child abuse, transphobia, misgendering, slurs, sexual content.**

* * *

Shiena's throat felt like it was about to collapse and her head felt like it would explode any second. It hurt so much and everything around her started to get blurry as her mind became numb. She never expected that death would come for her this way: strangled to death by her girlfriend. Yet at the same time, it seemed to be the logical end when you were dating a psychopathic serial killer.

Then, finally, the pain stopped. Shiena wasn't conscious enough to think properly let alone move. Then, contrasting with the brutal treatment she received, Otoya suddenly delicately lifted her and gently laid her down on the bed. Her throat was still hurting but at least she could breathe. When she started to regain some of her strength, Shiena took a deep breath and started to gasp.

Then all of a sudden, her wrists were grabbed and forced together. She felt something cold and metallic locking her wrists together before being restrained to the bed.

Shiena instinctively pulled on her restraints in vain. Slowly she was regaining more and more of her strength, but it was too late. She was securely handcuffed to her bed.

"Otoya…!"

Before she could mutter another word, something was forced inside of her mouth and tied up behind her neck, gagging her.

"Shhh. No more words, Shiena."

Otoya's voice sounded so warm yet Shiena could hear the pure darkness behind it. Without her glasses, Shiena couldn't see well. She felt Otoya's hands reaching her waist before starting to pull on her pants. Understanding what was really likely to happen to her, Shiena started to struggle, trying to kick off Otoya in vain. The serial killer simply yanked off her pants, leaving her bare save her panties.

Then, Shiena heard the shrill snip of scissors. As panic overtook her, Shiena felt the cold metal brushing against her stomach, followed by the sound of a clip. Yet there was no pain that followed.

Otoya cut through her shirt and ripped it open, exposing Shiena's chest. She shivered in fear as Otoya's hands slightly brushed Shiena's ribcage. It was the end. Not only will she get killed, but she'll also get tortured and raped.

It was just too much. Shiena wondered why she deserved such a cruel fate before she came to the conclusion it was all her fault. She was the one who went out with Otoya despite knowing who she truly was, trying to manipulate her. Well, she got hoist by her own petard.

Tears started to roll down her cheeks, knowing that her fate had been sealed. A soft hand gently wiped away her tears.

"Aww, Shiena-chan, don't be afraid. Isn't this what you wanted? You told me you could satisfy my darkest desires like no other woman could ever do, didn't you?"

As she asked that, Otoya removed the gag from Shiena's mouth, who didn't dare to speak, too terrified.

"Tell me, Shiena-chan. When you told me you could satisfy all of my needs, were those just empty words? Or were you sincere? I don't intend to force you to do anything, so if it's not what you want, I'll just leave and do what I have to do."

A strange thought crossed Shiena's mind: Otoya was asking her permission. From all the women who ended up in a similar situation as her, she was the only one Otoya asked permission to satiate her dark desires. She was special to Otoya. She truly was different than all the other women Otoya had been with.

Otoya truly loved her.

Upon that realization, Shiena stretched her neck enough to give a quick kiss to Otoya.

"I really meant it," Shiena replied. "I love you and I want to be the only one who shares in your intimacy."

A satisfied grin grew on Otoya's lips.

"Good girl," she simply replied as she kissed her back while Shiena felt the blade of her scissors pressing on her belly, slowly cutting her skin.

* * *

It was still hurting.

Shiena was looking at herself through her bathroom's mirror. Her torso was covered in multiple cuts. Nothing too deep, but it was still painful.

Before she left, Otoya had disinfected and bandaged her wounds in a soft, caring way. She even made sure Shiena felt okay before letting her leave.

Shiena had removed her bandages to see how her injuries were. The cut stopped leaking, given that the blood had coagulated. None of them seemed to have gotten infected.

Shiena felt dirty. Awfully dirty. And she needed a shower. She removed the rest of her clothes and opened the shower door/curtains, waiting for the water to be warm enough, and got inside.

The warm water flowing on her body was so soothing. It may have been washing the sweat and blood off her, but it wasn't the reason why she was dirty.

She let Otoya did those things to her- and she liked it.

She sincerely desired to be the only woman who could bring pleasure and satisfy Otoya's needs. Only she could bring her to her climax without dying. She was special, she was unique, she was useful.

She was essential.

Loved.

Appreciated.

Respected.

Valorized.

And never in her entire life had anyone made her feel all of this. Except for Otoya.

Shiena couldn't deny it anymore. She wasn't just with Otoya to manipulate her. It may have been her initial goal, but she surely didn't hate her like she pretended to.

Deceived by her own deception, Shiena ended up falling in love with Otoya for real. And now that she finally accepted it, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to denounce her once she didn't need her anymore. Because, in a way, she would still need her to satisfy her emotional needs.

This was why she felt dirty. Not on her skin, but inside. Her soul itself had been tainted by Otoya's darkness and no amount of water and soap could wash it away.

And this thought terrified Shiena.

* * *

"What can I do for you?" the hospital receptionist asked.

Shiena flashed her badge to the receptionist. "I work for the police. I'd like to see one of the patients here, Banba Mahiru."

The receptionist took a good look at Shiena's badge then looked on her computer.

"He's in room 612."

"She," Shiena corrected. "Banba is a woman."

The receptionist took another look at her computer.

"Oh, right... She is in room 612."

Shiena nodded and put away her badge, heading for the room. When she reached it, she lightly knocked on the open door to let her presence be known. Inside the room was a security guard and Mahiru, one hand cuffed to her bed.

"I was sent by AKA for a psychological evaluation. May I speak alone with the patient?"

Just in case, Shiena showed him her badge. The guard took a look at it before he nodded and left the room. Shiena closed the door and took a look at Mahiru. She was awake but seemed heavily sedated. Shiena grabbed a chair and sat next to her.

"Hi, Banba. It's me, Shiena. How are you feeling?"

Mahiru remained quiet for a moment before she turned her head to acknowledge Shiena's presence.

"C-calm and… tired," Mahiru replied softly.

"That's good. I'm just here to talk with you and ask you a couple of questions- if it's okay with you."

"O-of course…"

"Great. First, can you tell me about your childhood? How was your relationship with your parents and family in general?"

"G-good. My parents… have always been supportive of me. They let me dress how I wanted, let me grow my hair, addressed me as a girl… Most of my family did. And then, there was… my uncle…"

Mahiru's voice cracked when she mentioned her uncle, something Shiena didn't fail to notice.

"How were things with your uncle?" Shiena asked.

"He… he was… bad. In front of my parents, he always acted so nice, but when we were alone… He always asked to… take pictures of me. With fewer and fewer clothes. He kept calling me… his little trap. Then one day, he tried to… touch me. I escaped and told my parents…"

Shiena felt horrified by what she heard, but she had to keep her composure and continued.

"And what did your parents do?"

"They… they believed me. They confronted my uncle who denied everything and called me… a disgusting tranny and a freak. My parents immediately kicked him out of our life and reported him to the police but because of a lack of evidence, he wasn't… arrested. I never saw him again but… I'm always scared that I might meet him…"

When she said this tears started to bead from Mahiru's eyes. Instinctively and out of sympathy, Shiena grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears away, before putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to worry. We won't let him anywhere near you. You have my word."

"Thank you…"

Shiena wished she could just leave Mahiru alone but she knew she had to keep going.

"So, can you talk to me about your school life?"

"Um… elementary school was fine, same with middle school. They let me wear the girl uniform and treated me as a girl. But then, the only high school available in my district… didn't want me to wear the girl uniform. So I was forced… to wear the boy's one and cut my hair short. But I already started my treatment so I looked quite feminine. People assumed I was… a gay boy. So guys bullied me, called me… a faggot. And the girls… I accidentally went into the girls' bathroom once, out of habit, and since then… they spread the rumours that I was… a pervert, and the bullying… got worse. One day, a bunch of guys ambushed me in a park at night and… attacked me…"

"So you defended yourself?"

"No, I didn't. Shinya protected me."

"Right… was it the first time… Shinya appeared?" Shiena asked.

"No… not exactly. I could hear Shinya's voice in my head for a while, but it was… the first time they took over my body."

It seemed that she was confirming everything Shiena suspected. Mahiru suffered from psychosis and possibly schizophrenia, as well as dissociative identity disorder. Now she just had to prove that Mahiru was legally insane when she committed her crimes.

"What happened next? Do you remember… what Shinya did?"

"I… no. All I know is that thanks to her, I got a lot of holy relics."

"Holy relics?"

For a split-second, Shiena thought she could see madness in Mahiru's eyes.

"A gift from an important person who passed away," Mahiru replied with a smile.

Shiena felt a chill down her spine.

"So… you know that Shinya… killed the people who gave you gifts, right?"

Mahiru tilted her head, seeming confused.

"No, they didn't. Shinya just made the relics they gave me holy."

"But you said holy relics are from deceased people. So you must know that Shinya had to kill them to make your wish come true, no?"

Mahiru froze. She looked uncomfortable for a moment before a truly insane smile grew on her lips.

"They aren't dead. They are a part of me now, right here," Mahiru said as she put a hand on her chest. "They are in my heart now. They are filling my heart so I'll never be alone anymore, but they are somewhere they can't hurt me either."

Shiena had to admit, Mahiru was starting to freak her out. She did feel bad for her but at the same time, she was kind of scared of her. Mahiru was showing a clear sign of cognitive dissonance. She seemed aware that a holy relic required someone to die, yet didn't seem to realize that Shinya had to kill in order to make the relics holy.

She was suddenly interrupted in her thoughts by Mahiru giggling.

"I'm not alone anymore. No one can hurt me anymore. Shinya will protect me. I didn't do anything wrong… Please, I want to go home!"

Mahiru suddenly burst into tears. Despite her fright, Shiena gently rubbed Mahiru's back.

"I'll do everything I can to help you, I promise. You just need to have faith in me, okay?"

Shiena handed her the tissue box and Mahiru wiped her face clean before she weakly nodded.

"I… I believe you, Kenmochi-san. Shinya told me… I should trust you. And I trust Shinya."

Shiena nodded back and managed to smile.

"You just need to be patient and behave, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"I… I can!"

"Good. I'll let you rest now, you think you'll be fine?"

"Y-yes, I will. Thanks, Kenmochi-san."

Shiena gave a comforting pat on Mahiru's shoulder before she left the room. When she was in the elevator, she opened her jacket to reveal that she was wearing a wire and a mic underneath. She had recorded everything.

Hopefully, it will be enough to prove Mahiru is criminally not responsible.

* * *

Shiena wished that it wouldn't happen so soon. She tried to forget about this eventuality even if she knew deep down that it was inevitable.

She got out of Chitaru's car, followed by Tokaku, as they all headed for the house. Cops and paramedics had already arrived, as well as the technicians scurrying about taking pictures of the grisly scene. The three AKA agents entered the house and didn't need to walk much to see what happened.

There was a pool of blood in the living room. Multiple medical experts were surrounding the area, taking pictures and taking samples. Despite her dread, Shiena walked forwards, to discover an awfully mutilated corpse lying on the couch.

"Fuck!" Tokaku exclaimed. "This fucking psycho ripper again!"

Shiena clenched her fist. Otoya had killed again, in the same sadistic manner. She failed to persuade her to do otherwise.

It was all her fault.

Drowning in remorse, Shiena did the only thing she could do: investigate the body.

She got closer to the poor woman and noticed something unusual. Unlike all of Otoya's victims, this woman didn't have an expression of sheer fright and pain frozen on her face. On the contrary, she looked… peaceful. Like she was just sleeping.

"Strange," one of the technicians said.

"Huh? What's strange?" Shiena asked, wondering if he noticed the same thing as her.

"Well, the victim isn't restrained and there's no sign of struggle. Isn't it weird for someone who got so brutally murdered?"

"Perhaps the killer removed the restrains after killing her?" Chitaru proposed.

"No, otherwise there would be rope marks. This woman was never tied up."

"Then this sicko just killed her too fast and decided to mutilate her corpse," Tokaku suggested.

"Hm," the technician said as he examined the body. "No. Those mutilations are definitely not post-mortem. They bled too much."

"Then what the hell?! How can someone stay calm while being ripped apart!?" Tokaku exclaimed.

"Perhaps it's the alcohol?" another technician said. "Look, there are empty wine bottles on the coffee table. Perhaps the victim was too intoxicated to react or realize what was happening."

"Hm, perhaps. What do you think, Kenmochi?" Chitaru asked.

Shiena remained pondering. Could alcohol really refrain someone from feeling such an amount of pain and agony? She doubted it. There had to be more than that…

This is when she realized the truth.

"I think it's a viable possibility," Shiena replied. "The victim could have drunk a significant amount of alcohol and could have been a light drinker. Therefore, maybe passing out or even falling in a coma due to intoxication. The killer might have decided to still mutilate and kill her, perhaps even felt pleasure through the victim's total vulnerability."

"Is it the ripper?"

"Definitely. The modus operandi, the type of victim, the brutality and sadism… everything matches."

It wasn't entirely true. Even if Shiena knew the killer was undeniably Otoya, there was something she was hiding from her coworkers.

Something that proves she did succeed to persuade Otoya.

* * *

Shiena could feel her heart race in apprehension. She stood in front of Otoya's house, hesitating to knock. After what happened between them last time, Shiena was fearful of Otoya, but at the same time, she was craving her so much. And after what she learned today, she had to talk to her.

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Shiena finally knocked.

No answer.

Shiena knocked again. Still no answer. She rang instead, without much more success.

Perhaps Otoya wasn't home? Yet her car was in the driveway…

Out of impulse, Shiena seized the handle and turned it, to discover that the door was unlocked. Shiena stood there, hesitating, until she finally pushed the door opened and stepped inside.

"Otoya? Are you there? Otoya!"

No answer. Strange. It really seemed like she wasn't there. Yet, her car was there and she left her door unlocked. Did something bad happen to her?

Worried, Shiena rushed towards Otoya's bedroom. It was empty.

As she was about to leave to inspect somewhere else, Shiena's attention got attracted by a case on the bed. It was a leather suitcase, but not the type to travel with. It looked more like a chest. Overtaken by curiosity, Shiena stepped inside the room and headed for the bed. Her hands were attracted like a magnet to the case, her fingers nearly reaching the clip to open it.

"Shiena."

The brunette jolted and flinched away from the case immediately when she heard that cold yet assertive voice. With some apprehension in her heart, Shiena nervously turned back.

"Oh hey, Otoya…"

"What are you doing here, Shiena? Trespassing in my house?"

Shiena gulped. Otoya didn't seem angry or anything, but she had this empty yet cold look in her turquoise eyes.

"You know I could call the police for intrusion, right?" Otoya added stoically.

Shiena could feel cold sweat rolling on her face. For a moment Otoya sounded so serious and then, suddenly, burst into laugher.

"I'm kidding, Shiena-chan! As I would ever call the police on you, just like I know you wouldn't on me."

Shiena let out a sigh. It was just a joke. Phew…

Then Otoya's cold and emotionless look came back in a fraction of second.

"But seriously, why are you here, Shiena?"

And the panic came back.

"I… I wasn't doing anything b-bad, I swear! It's just that… you weren't answering the door and your car was there, then I saw your door wasn't locked… and I got worried. So I decided-"

"To violate my property without asking?" Otoya interrupted her dryly. "When I was peacefully gardening in my backyard?"

Well, that sure was a strong use of words that made this whole situation even worse. Then Shiena remembered a certain detail that happened quite often.

"A… as if… you do it to me all the time!" Shiena accused. "How many times did you break into my apartment!?"

Otoya, even if she seemed like she was expecting this rebuttal, remained unfazed. Then, she looked a little bit annoyed.

"Don't try to get at me with something that happened in the past as an excuse. We are talking about something that happened now. And it's not my fault if you didn't get mad at me for trespassing. I mean, why would you? I'm your girlfriend…"

"Well, I'm your girlfriend t-"

"Irrelevant. Don't come into my house without my permission, understood?"

Despite the blatant hypocrisy, Shiena didn't insist. She knew someone like Otoya wouldn't take responsibility or even admit their wrongdoing. It was part of psychopathy.

"U-understood," Shiena said reluctantly, trying to hide her bitterness.

Otoya remained stoic for a moment before she sighed and sat on her bed.

"Well then, now that we clarified that, let's move on to the next question, shall we? Why did you come to my house?"

Otoya now looked perfectly calm and nonchalant. Shiena started to feel nervous again, even if she knew she did nothing wrong.

"I just… came back from work and… I needed to talk with you."

"Oh? Is that so? About what, Shiena-chan?" Otoya asked with an innocent smile.

"The murder. You killed again, didn't you?"

Otoya stayed silent for a moment before a smirk grew on her lips.

"Well yeah, of course. It was always meant to happen, right? I thought you understood that-"

"I'm not referring to that. You just killed that woman. Am I correct?"

Otoya didn't answer, instead asked another question.

"You know what I did, Shiena-chan. You're smart and you're not upset at me, so of course you know. Why don't you say it yourself?"

"I want to hear it from your mouth!"

"Then we're going to stand here for a long time cuz I don't intend to answer."

Shiena loudly sighed in exasperation. Otoya could be so obnoxious sometimes- most of the time, in fact.

"For now the police think the victim was so intoxicated l that she was unconscious while being murdered, thus explaining the lack of struggle or restraints. I let them believe that, but we both know it's not the truth, right?"

Otoya simply answered with a soft chuckle.

"After all, there's no way someone, no matter how drunk they are, wouldn't feel anything while being brutally murdered, and I'm sure we can both agree on that."

"Why beat around the bush, Shiena-chan? Just say it already! I'm sure you're dying to tell me and show me how smart you are! Come on! Don't disappoint me, Shiena-chan!"

Shiena felt like Otoya was provoking her but at the same time, she did want her to acknowledge that she was smart- at least smart enough to see through her and her ruse.

"You wanted to kill this woman painlessly but still make it look like your usual murder. You couldn't just kill her quickly and then mutilate her corpse, because mutilations post-mortem are different and they would have known it. You needed her alive when you were killing her, yet not in pain… So the only conclusion I can come out with…"

Shiena paused for a moment while Otoya's eyes were glaring at her, eager to hear to end of her sentence.

"... Is that you drugged her so badly that even though she was alive, she was in a completely comatose state and, therefore, couldn't feel a thing! Am I right, Otoya!?"

Otoya remained passive before a wide smile grew on her face, followed by some claps.

"Congratulations, Shiena-chan. I always knew you were smart. And the person who knows me the best."

"I hope you realize a toxicologic exam will see the victim was drugged, right?"

"Don't worry, I used GHB. It's hard to detect because it disappears pretty quickly from the body. And mixed with alcohol, well, it sure does knock someone pretty badly."

"... The rape drug. I should have thought about it."

"Now, the next question is, why I did that-"

"Is it because… I persuaded you… to not torture your victims to death?" Shiena proposed.

Otoya let out a soft chuckle before she rose up.

"Well, of course, Shiena-chan. Well, persuade wouldn't be the right word… more that you proved your point to me."

"My… my point?"

Otoya closed the distance between them and put a gentle hand on Shiena's cheek.

"That you could fully satisfy me. I admit, I doubted you, but you were right. I can satisfy my dark desires with you, even if I don't kill you. So it would be pointless to keep satisfying this need with those unimportant women, right? Yet, I also have a job to do, I have to kill them… so I had to come up with a plan to satisfy everyone's needs. Pretty clever, huh? And also…"

Otoya got closer to Shiena, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Given that you honoured your promise of satisfying me, I felt like I should honour your wish to not make my victims suffer anymore. I honestly think it's an equal trade-off, don't you think?"

Shiena wasn't sure if Otoya did that to honour her promise or if it was just a pragmatic choice to benefit herself, but it didn't matter. The result would be the same and it was Shiena's goal. Also, a part of her liked to think that Otoya also did that for her.

"Well, now that we cleared that out, how about a reward? For me to have answered your wish, and for you to have so brilliantly understood my trick. But… you also need a little punishment for breaking into my house. And I know just the way to do all of that at the same time."

Shiena remained confused. What was Otoya implying?

Her girlfriend pulled back from her and sat back on her bed, crossed her legs and gave her such a dominant look.

"Remove your clothes, Shiena," Otoya ordered softly.

"W-what…?"

"Don't make me ask twice, or else, the punishment will be worse."

Shiena was starting to realize what was going on. Otoya wanted to satisfy her dark need with her once again. Shiena didn't really want to, but she must oblige. And she couldn't deny that deep down, she enjoyed that.

Shiena started by removing her blazer, then her tie, before she started to unbutton her shirt. She didn't go back home to change after work, too eager to talk to Otoya.

When she was done unbuttoning her shirt, Shiena removed it, exposing her naked torso, much to Otoya's pleasure.

"Ohh, no bra today, Shiena-chan?" Otoya said with a smirk.

"I… I wanted… to avoid something brushing too much… on my cuts…"

"Ah, right."

Shiena's body was covered with those cuts, mainly her belly, collarbones and back. She was worried that they might leave scars but at the same time, what would be the issue? It's not like a lot of people would see her naked anyway.

Otoya was licking her lips as she stared at Shiena's body.

"Your perfect skin, covered with all my marks of love. It's truly beautiful. Now continue with the rest- you're not done."

It felt kind of humiliating and degrading but at the same time, exciting and arousing. Shiena proceeded to remove her pants and socks, leaving only her panties. But when she was about to pull them off, Otoya stopped her.

"No, keep them on for the moment," Otoya commanded.

Then she stood up and turned back to open her mysterious case. From where she was, Shiena couldn't see what was inside and Otoya closed it too fast for her to try seeing.

"Shiena, close your eyes," Otoya ordered.

Without hesitation, Shiena did as she was told, part of her trusting Otoya. She then felt something around her neck and instinctively flinched, remembering when Otoya strangled her. But nothing painful happened this time.

Instead, she felt some sort of soft leather around her neck and then heard a click.

"You can open your eyes, Shiena-chan!"

Shiena did as she was told and opened her eyes. Otoya was facing her, smiling cheerfully and holding… a leash?

The brunette looked down and discovered that she was now wearing a collar fixed to a leash- a leash held by Otoya. There was also something else in Otoya's other hand.

It looked like a riding crop but with two shafts, like it could whip you twice with only one hit. When she saw it Shiena's heart started to race both with anticipation and apprehension.

"Get on your knees, Shiena," Otoya ordered.

Shiena didn't need to be told twice. She immediately dropped to her knees. Otoya stared at her for a moment, as if she was enjoying the sight of Shiena being so submissive and obedient to her, before she lightly pulled on the leash.

"Good girl, you're a good girl, Shiena-chan," Otoya praised as she gently patted her head as if she was a dog. "Now it's time to put your mouth to good use. If you do a good job, I won't hit you too much. If I'm not satisfied enough, you'll receive more hits. Understood? And if I come, then you'll get a reward."

The prospect of getting whipped didn't enchant Shiena, but she wanted the reward. Otoya unzipped her pants, leaving only her panties.

"I want you to remove it," Otoya began, "but… not with your hands."

"But then… how?"

"As I said, put your mouth to good use."

Shiena understood what she had to do. Using her teeth, she bit the hem of Otoya's panties and dragged it down, exposing her pussy. Shiena noticed that Otoya was already wet. Shiena stuck out her tongue and didn't lose time getting to work.

* * *

**Well, things are getting heated here! Will Shiena survive the heat or will she be burned?**


	33. Mine Forever

**Hey, I'm back! Yep, I'm still alive. Sorry for the long wait, I went back to work and just didn't have the time or energy to write. But I'm back now and I'll try to update more frequently.**

**Warning: Graphic sexual content and extremely dubious consent.**

* * *

"Shiena-san, there's something important I need to tell you," Haru began.

Shiena's grip on her chair tightened, anxious regarding Haru's sudden seriousness.

"W-what is it, Ichinose?"

Haru took a deep breath and Shiena gulped.

"Well, you see… I'm actually a serial killer."

Shiena remained silent, unable to find the right words. For a moment Haru kept a straight face before she cracked a smile and started to laugh.

"April Fools!" Haru exclaimed!

The brunette didn't reply. There was simply nothing that came to her mind after hearing that. She just stood there, staring blankly at her coworker. Haru's laughter slowly turned nervous before she was left to smile awkwardly.

"Haha… did you get it? April Fool… because, you know, it's April 1st today…"

Again, Shiena stayed quiet. Haru wasn't smiling anymore.

"Uh… Shiena-san? Is everything alright? I… I'm sorry! Maybe I shouldn't have joked about that-"

Haru abruptly stopped talking when Shiena suddenly put a hand on her shoulder, staring at her right in the eyes with such a serious expression.

"That's such a shame, Ichinose. Such a shame you would make that kind of joke to me of all people."

"Ah… you're right, I shouldn't-"

"Given that I'm currently dating a serial killer," Shiena interrupted her.

It was Haru's turn to go silent, staring at Shiena with wide-open eyes.

"Are… are you implying… that Otoya-san… is a serial killer?"

"Not any serial killer," Shiena replied with a grin. "Jackie herself."

"No way…!?"

And then, after a long silence, they both burst into laughter.

"Haha, good one, Shiena-san! I almost believed you! You sounded so convincing!"

"Ahah… yeah…"

Shiena knew there was a risk to say that but at the same time, it was so tempting. Even if she knew Haru would take it as a joke, it felt good to finally say the truth to someone.

"What are you laughing about?"

Shiena flinched when she noticed Tokaku next to them, glaring at her with suspicion.

"Ah… A-Azuma…"

"Tokaku! Shiena-san just made an amazing joke! She said she was dating Jack the Ripper!"

Sometimes, Shiena really wished Haru would just shut the fuck up.

"Oh… The Ripper…" the blue-haired girl said as she stared even more at Shiena. "It's true. You do have a girlfriend right, Kenmochi? This Takechi girl."

Shiena could feel cold sweats rolling on her back.

"Ah… yeah, I do… But she's obviously not Jackie, duh. It was just a joke," Shiena said, forcing herself to laugh.

"April Fools!" Haru exclaimed cheerfully.

Tokaku continued to stare at Shiena for a moment before she looked at her girlfriend.

"Haru, I need you to write my report. Kenmochi, the boss wants to see you."

Well, that sure didn't sound comforting.

"Ah… oh, yeah, of course! I'm on my way, thanks for telling me."

Without even taking the time to say bye, Shiena rushed to Sumireko's office, feeling her heart race with anticipation.

* * *

"You may come in," Shiena heard right after she knocked.

The brunette gulped and opened the door. Sumireko was sitting at her desk, visibly filling some paperwork, a cup of tea next to her. When Shiena stepped inside her office, Sumireko raised her head and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh, Kenmochi-san. Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"I… I'll be fine, thanks," Shiena nervously declined as she sat down in front of her boss.

Sumireko took a sip of her tea and put her paperwork away.

"I wanted to thank you, Kenmochi-san. For what you did for Mahiru-san."

"...Uh?"

"The recording you got was considered enough evidence that she might be criminally insane. Enough to get her a professional psychiatrist evaluation. She will most likely avoid going to jail. The worst outcome for her is the asylum. And we can recognize that it is infinitely better than jail. It would be a safer environment for her that could actually help her. But for now, she is under house arrest until her trial. The best outcome would be for her to stay under surveillance at home instead of the asylum."

"Oh… I see. Then it's good, right?"

"For now, yes. It is indeed good news. Who knows what would have happened to her in jail… that and the possibility of the death penalty. At least now we know she will be safe and receive the help she needs. I do not think I could thank you enough for what you did for her, Kenmochi-san."

"N-no, really, I just did my work… No need to thank me. Banba is my friend after all, of course I'd help her-"

Shiena didn't notice that Sumireko had stood up and was now standing next to her, gently taking her hands into hers.

"No need to be modest. You saved Mahiru-san's life and I will be eternally grateful to you. I feel honoured that you bothered with this selfish request of mine, especially after what I did to you…"

"As I said, I did it for Banba- Wait, what? What you did to me? What?"

Sumireko released Shiena's hands and looked away.

"When you were arrested for Jack the Ripper's murder, I knew deep down it was impossible for you to be the serial killer. And yet… I did not push enough to defend you. I was receiving pressure, especially complaints, that I let an alleged serial killer work right under my nose. Rumours even started that I might have been aware and let you do as you please, simply to keep AKA relevant. It was a truly preposterous accusation, but I knew it might affect the agency."

For a moment, Shiena wondered why Sumireko was telling her all of this, but her question was answered right away.

"If I had defended you, people might have thought that I was really covering for a serial killer. But I did not have the heart to simply disown you and accuse you of being Jack the Ripper to save my reputation. But in the end, I just did… nothing. And to be frank, that was the worst option. I am sorry, Kenmochi-san, I truly am. I should not have minded those ridiculous rumours and defended you, as I should have for any of my employees. I truly am sorry. I know you might not accept my apology and I understand if you cannot, but please, stay. AKA needs you. You are our only chance to catch Jack the Ripper. You understand them more than anyone ever has, like you two have some kind of connection. So please, you do not have to forgive me, but consider staying at AKA. For others' sake."

Shiena remained frozen. She didn't know what to reply to that, nor what to think about that new information. So Sumireko could have helped her but didn't, for the sake of her reputation… yet she didn't make things worse by accusing her herself of being Jackie, either. And in the end, it didn't really matter, given that it was firstly a ploy from Black Guild and secondly Otoya saved her. So there was no reason to hold grudges against Sumireko. No matter what she would have done, the result would probably have been the same.

Now, what was actually bothering her was Sumireko's faith in her to catch Jackie. Shame and remorse built up inside of her. She tried to swallow it deep down, convinced that what she was doing was for the greater good. After all, Otoya was a lesser evil compared to Black Guild and whoever was behind this evil organization. If she made them fall, it would be a much greater favour for everyone than simply arresting Jackie.

Shiena raised her head and smiled at Sumireko.

"Don't worry, Hanabusa. I don't hold any grudges against you. You were doing what was best for AKA. Regardless, I'm fine now, so no hard feelings. Anyway, I don't intend to leave AKA. There are too many evil people lurking for me to leave."

When she heard those words, Sumireko smiled but dropped it when she saw Shiena's serious expression.

"But I want the truth, Hanabusa."

"Hm? The truth about what?"

"About Banba and her supposed 'accident'. I want to know the real reason she disappeared."

Sumireko looked shocked for a moment but managed to keep her elegant composure.

"Well, I suppose after everything, you at least deserve the truth," Sumireko said with a soft smile. "I lied. I knew Mahiru-san was not absent because of an accident because… she was with me. She was staying at my house. I knew about what she did and… I did not have the strength to turn her in. So instead, I hid her at my place. I thought I could control her, but unfortunately… She escaped. And was arrested afterwards. I am really sorry for lying-"

"No no, it's not just lying! You willingly defended a serial killer and sheltered her! Not only is it morally wrong, it's against the law! You could get arrested for complicity!"

Sumireko was still smiling, but her smile looked so sad now.

"I know that what I did was not only wrong but also totally unprofessional. But… Mahiru-san is important to me. I could not bear the thought of her ending up in the men's prison. I had to protect her! Because I… I love her!"

Shiena knew she couldn't judge Sumireko. She may have sheltered a serial killer, but it came from a place of love. And she knew that Mahiru wasn't truly a bad person, just broken. She did what she could to protect her and, really, Shiena didn't have the moral authority to judge her. Especially since she was doing almost the same thing as Sumireko.

Softly, Shiena took her hands in hers and gently smiled.

"It's okay, Hanabusa. I won't tell anyone. You did this because you love her, right? You did what was best for Banba. Who could blame you? Certainly not me," Shiena said with a smile that slowly turned bitter. "We would do anything for those we love, right?"

* * *

Right after work, Shiena passed by the nearby café as she usually does. She ordered a simple coffee and went back on her way home, preparing herself for an unexciting evening. It wasn't like there was something interesting today, except maybe April Fools'- not that Shiena never particularly enjoyed this day of petty, meaningless jokes. To her, April Fools' always had been a day for her old bullies to just pull more pranks on her.

"Hey, Shiena-san!"

Haru was running towards her, waving her hand with a bright smile on her face. Shiena stopped walking for a moment and smiled back.

"Oh, Ichinose. I thought you would stay longer to finish your report."

"Well, I was, but Tokaku decided to let me go and finish on her own."

Shiena started to walk again, slower to allow Haru to follow her.

"So, anything planned tonight?" Haru asked with a sly smile.

"Huh? For April Fool's? No, not really… is there a purpose other than pulling off pranks that I'm not aware of?"

"Haha, you're so funny! No, I mean for Otoya-san's birthday, silly!"

Shiena nearly choked on her coffee.

"O-Otoya's birthday!? Today!?"

This time, Haru dropped the smile and frowned.

"You mean, you aren't joking? You really didn't know today was her birthday?"

"How was I supposed to know? She never told me! How did you know in the first place?"

"I asked her! The funny thing is that the first time I asked her she said it was December 31th, but when I tried to wish her happy birthday she told me it was just a joke and that April 1st was her real birthday."

"Huh, I wonder why…"

"Oh, it was because I told her my birthday was January 1st! But anyway, now that you know, you should probably prepare something for her, don't you think?"

Shiena sipped her coffee to have an excuse to not answer right away. What could she possibly offer to Otoya for her birthday? What would make this psychopathic sadistic murderer happy? Shiena didn't feel like any material things would satisfy her girlfriend. It has to be something deeper, something more memorable, something only Otoya could have.

And then, the obvious answer suddenly came to Shiena's mind like a flash. That's it, she had the perfect gift for Otoya!

"I know what I'll give her!" Shiena exclaimed.

"Oh, really? What?" Haru asked, curiosity beaming into her lilac eyes.

Shiena immediately blushed and looked away.

"It's… a secret. I gotta go now. Seeya!"

Without looking back, Shiena rushed to a certain store, knowing that she'll need a specific item in order to give Otoya her gift.

* * *

Otoya looked surprised when she opened the door and discovered Shiena on her porch. Surprised but not displeased, quite the contrary in fact. A bright smile illuminated her face when she saw her girlfriend.

"Oh, Shiena-chan! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here so late in the evening? Is something wrong?"

Standing in front of Otoya, Shiena was looking away, fidgeting a little, holding a box.

"Why… why didn't you tell me?"

"Hm? Tell you what?" Otoya asked, confused.

"That today is your birthday," Shiena said as she finally looked at her girlfriend.

Once again, Otoya looked surprised. Her eyes then went for the box.

"Shiena-chan… don't tell me… you got me a gift?"

Shiena could swear she heard something unusual in Otoya's voice. It wasn't just surprise. It sounded like… she was moved or something.

"Y-yes," Shiena mumbled shyly.

This time, Otoya's smile seemed more genuine as she stepped out from the door.

"Come on in," Otoya invited her softly.

A little bit nervous, Shiena finally stepped inside and removed her shoes as Otoya closed the door behind her.

"Would you like something to drink?" Otoya proposed.

"Ah, no… I'm fine. Thanks."

"Then, shall we head for my bedroom then?" she added with a sly smile.

Shiena was now blushing.

"S-sure."

As she expected, Otoya's bedroom was still a mess. At least her bed was clean for once. Shiena sat on the edge, nervously tapping her fingers on the box she was holding.

"Why… didn't you tell me it was your birthday?" Shiena asked once again.

"I don't know. I just never considered birthdays, including mine, to be important. It's just a day like any other day. I only cared if it could benefit me in any way."

"Then… why did you care about my birthday?"

Otoya remained silent for a moment before she sat next to Shiena.

"Because _you_ are important to me, Shiena."

Shiena felt her heart race. Otoya's thigh was rubbing against hers and their shoulders touched as she closed the distance between them.

"Otoya…"

"Yes, Shiena-chan?"

"Why did you tell Ichinose your birthday was December 31th?"

Otoya remained quiet for a moment before she smiled awkwardly.

"Well, she told me her birthday was January 1st and I wanted to gain her trust, so… Yeah. I lied. Oopsie doopsie. I didn't expect I would ever see her again, to be frank. I had to tell her the truth to avoid any misunderstanding later on."

Well, that sure did sound more like the Otoya she knew. Her girlfriend gently took her hand in hers as she looked at the box.

"So, what did you get me for my birthday?" Otoya asked with a soft smile.

"It's… what's inside isn't really the gift per se… more what you'll do with it."

"Oh? Well, I'm really intrigued now. May I open it?"

A little bit embarrassed, Shiena handed the box to Otoya, who eagerly opened it. For a moment she froze, which worried Shiena.

"O-Otoya…?"

A grin appeared on the serial killer's face.

"Well well, that sure is something interesting you got me there, Shiena-chan," she said as she pulled the double strap-on from the box.

Shiena was now heavily blushing in shame.

"You got me a strap-on? Lol."

"That's… that's not the gift…"

"Hm? Then what is it?"

Shiena looked away, nervously playing with her fingers.

"My… my… v-virginity…"

Otoya remained stoic for a moment before she tilted her head with confusion.

"But, Shiena… I already took your virginity."

"I mean, the… the physical one. You know, the… uh… the hymen?"

Otoya stayed quiet for a moment until she smirked with amusement.

"Oh, you mean popping your cherry? Shiena-chan is so innocent. It's adorable."

Shiena was blushing more intensely.

"I thought… you'd like this-"

Otoya suddenly pinned Shiena against the bed. A wolfish smile was marking her face as she licked her lips, her eyes full of lust.

"Oh, I _do _like this, Shiena-chan. It's the best gift you could have ever given me."

As she said that, Otoya's hand brushed Shiena's thigh, before gently pulling down her pants.

"What could be a better gift than knowing you'll belong to me? _Forever_."

In a more forceful manner, Otoya yanked Shiena's panties, leaving her most precious place totally exposed and vulnerable. Otoya grinned at the sight as she removed her own pants and underwear.

"You will be mine forever, Shiena."

She grabbed the double strap-on and easily fit her side inside of her and adjusted the harness around her waist. Shiena felt a strange chill down her spine at the sight of Otoya with a fake dick. Like a feeling of imminent danger somehow.

"Shiena-chan," Otoya asked with a soft yet husky voice, "come suck on it."

"...Uh? But… it's not a real one-"

"Shiena. Come. Suck. On. It," Otoya reiterated, sounding colder. "It's my birthday. You have to do what I say."

Shiena gulped. She had a bad feeling about this but ultimately obliged. Otoya was kneeling on her bed, the toy coming out proudly from her sex. Shiena crawled in front of her and put a hand on her thigh to keep her balance as she approached her face to the plastic cock. She took a deep breath and took the toy inside her mouth. She wasn't sure what to do exactly. It wasn't even a real dick to begin with. But she knew Otoya was probably expecting some kind of show- _an erotic one_.

Shiena started to roll her tongue around the tip before she took half of the strap-on inside her mouth and started sucking on it. Shiena knew she must look ridiculous right now, giving a blowjob to a plastic toy, but as long as it pleased Otoya…

She felt Otoya's hand gently stroking her hair. It encouraged Shiena to continue, to go deeper, to take all of the plastic shaft into her mouth.

"Oh, I didn't know Shiena-chan could take a cock so well. Too bad I don't have a real one, I would have loved to relentlessy fuck your cute little mouth."

Really, Shiena was starting to have second thoughts. Perhaps giving a plastic dick to Otoya wasn't a good idea after all.

"I think you wet it enough. Get on your back now, Shiena-chan, and spread your legs for me, will you?"

Shivering a little, the brunette did as she was told and laid down on her back. Otoya grinned as she brushed Shiena's belly, then her chest, before she ripped open her blouse, exposing her front, her nudity still preserved by her bra. But not for too long as Otoya proceeded to also get rid of that, leaving Shiena mostly topless. Otoya's grin was growing wider as she gently cupped one of Shiena's breasts. Her other hand brushed her ribcage until it reached Shiena's thigh, slowly going between her legs to grab her crotch.

"Nn..ng… mmm…"

"Not really wet huh… I guess I'll have to fix that. I don't want my sweet Shiena-chan to be in pain later."

Otoya started to gently rub her slit, collecting some of her precious love juice. Then her finger started to tease her clit, rolling it, pressing it, rubbing it, faster and faster…

"Ahhh…. mmmm…. ugg…"

"Does it feel good, Shiena-chan?"

"Y-yeah… I think… I'm gonna come soon-"

Otoya suddenly stopped.

"Well, we can't have that now, don't we?"

Shiena stared at her girlfriend, the pleasant feeling that was building in her body slowly disappearing, her cum sadly dripping from her unstimulated and eager pussy.

"...Why…?"

"No coming as long as you are still a virgin. If you are giving me your virginity, I want the whole thing. I want your first orgasm after I pop your cherry."

After she said that, Otoya started to rub the tip of the strap-on against Shiena's swollen lips, lightly teasing her clit. The lack of proper stimulation after this cruel orgasm denial felt like a torture- a sweet pleasant torture.

"O-Otoya… what are you waiting for? S-stop… teasing me…"

"I want you to say the words, Shiena-chan."

"You… you want me to beg…?"

"Of course not. I'm about to pop your cherry, there's only one appropriate thing to say in those circonstances, right?"

Shiena remained confused for a moment before the answer came to her like a flash.

"Ah… that… uh… Please be gentle? It's my first time…"

Otoya chuckled at those words and in one trust penetrated Shiena's virgin pussy. Shiena let out a strangled cry when she felt her hymen ripping. It hurt a little but it was bearable. She was wet enough for the toy to slip easily inside her, but it forced her vagina to stretch so quickly. After a few back and forth, Shiena's pussy started to adjust to the strap-on and moans started to escape her mouth.

"So Shiena-chan likes to get her pussy fucked huh… You were _that_ eager to get the D? What a naughty girl."

As she said that Otoya started to move faster. The tip of the toy was hitting just the right spot that was sending jolts of pleasure all through Shiena's body. She instinctively wrapped her legs around Otoya's waist as she felt her climax approaching.

"O...O-Otoya… I… I'm close… it feels so… good… ahh…!"

"Then come for me, Shiena-chan. Come from me taking away your precious virginity!"

Otoya gave more powerful inward thrusts, a little bit slowly, strongly hitting against Shiena's sensitive spot. It was too much for the brunette, who uttered a loud moan of ecstasy as she finally reached her climax. Her pussy was twitching around the toy, as if it could somehow gather some inexistent sperm.

"What a lovely orgasm. A shame that I haven't come yet."

Shiena was left panting and gasping as she felt the strap-on being removed from her body.

"I'm not done with you, Shiena-chan. Please get on all fours."

Shiena was still laying down, all limp and exhausted by her recent orgasm.

"Shiena. Don't make me repeat myself," Otoya said with something dark in her voice.

Shiena squealed. Despite her exhaustion, she managed to get on all fours, feeling her own cum dripping from her pussy down her thighs. Then, without any warning, Otoya rammed the toy once again in her wet cunt. Shiena let out a cry of surprise. It didn't hurt, but she would have still prefered at least a warning.

Otoya grabbed both her hips and started thrusting faster and harder, with strong back and forth hits. Shiena was gasping under the thrusts. Her sex was still so sensitive after her strong orgasm, it didn't take her long to come again.

Panting from exhaustion, Shiena's upper body collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily. Otoya prevented her pelvis from falling by tightening her grip on her hips.

"Aww, you came twice while I haven't even come once yet… and here I thought it was my birthday. You sure are sensitive, Shiena-chan."

Still firmly grabbing Shiena's hips, Otoya continued with her strong and almost brutal thrusting. Shiena's moans sounded more like cries and even screams.

"O...O-Otoya… stop… I… I can't take it… anymore…"

"Shhh, it's gonna be fine, Shiena. Just be a good girl and stay still until I'm done."

There was no arguing possible with Otoya. The toy penetrating her was now almost painful, eliciting cries of pain from her. Even if she was wet, her skin was starting to get irritated. She was worried that it might rip and bleed.

Multiple orgasms assailed her, almost feeling like it ripped her body every time she reached her climax. Shiena couldn't bear it anymore. She was too exhausted to even cry anymore. Otoya was continuing to roughly penetrate her poor pussy, groaning in an almost animalistic way. At this point, Shiena had lost almost all sensation.

"I… I'm coming… I'll come while I'm inside you, Shiena…. AhhhAhhhHH!"

Otoya let out a powerful moan that almost sounded like a roar. Her nails dug in Shiena's hips, slightly piercing her skin and drawing some blood. Otoya was still letting out a few more groans before she finally let go of her girlfriend. Shiena's whole body collapsed to the bed as she softly gasped, her body all sweaty and shivering a little. She was so drained of all her energy that she didn't have the strength to move, speak or even think.

Otoya removed the toy from her pussy and remained still, as if she was contemplating her work. She then laid down next to Shiena.

"Wow, that sure was one of the strongest orgasms I ever had," Otoya said blissfully. "Thank you Shiena-chan, for giving me this opportunity. It's the best gift you could have ever given me."

Shiena didn't answer. She was staring at the wall absentmindedly, still shivering.

"Hm, Shiena-chan? Are you cold perhaps?"

Shiena remained silent. Then, she flinched when she felt Otoya suddenly spooning her, wrapping the blankets above them.

"Don't worry, I'll warm you up, my precious Shiena-chan."

Otoya's embrace became tighter while Shiena's body became instinctively stiff.

"I will never let you go. You are mine now. Forever."

Those words sent a chill down Shiena's spine but, too exhausted, she eventually fell asleep, doubt still clouding her mind.


	34. Seeing Stars

Otoya was standing near some random building, leaning against the brick wall. She adjusted her sunglasses and cap, playing low profile, as she pretended to be on her phone to pass time.

"Takechi-san."

Otoya raised her head. A girl wearing a hoodie and sunglasses was standing near her, leaning against the wall too.

"Kuzunoha," Otoya replied, looking away.

Nio took out an envelope from her bag and discretely gave it to Otoya. The serial killer opened it and quickly glanced at its contents. Her eyes widened and she saw it.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" Otoya asked.

"As if I'd do that. This is your next target. We are in a hurry so if you could kill her as soon as possible, that'd be great. Of course, you'll have a bonus for doing the job in less than 3 days."

Otoya closed back the envelope. For the first time in her life, she was having second thoughts, but she couldn't let Nio know. Especially since she knew it was most likely a trap.

"I'll do my best," Otoya simply replied.

She could swear she saw Nio grin for a split-second before she walked away. Otoya once again checked the picture of her target, wondering how she'd get away with this one.

* * *

When she heard someone knock at her door, Shiena's heart skipped a beat. She most likely knew who it was and she didn't particularly want to see this person right now. But the knocking became quite persistent and she was worried that this person would just force the door open- it wouldn't be the first time. Worried, Shiena walked towards the door and opened it.

Her doubts were right.

"Hey, Shiena-chan… sorry for passing by unannounced, but… I really needed to see you. May I come in?"

Shiena never witnessed Otoya with such an expression. Her girlfriend seemed… genuinely tormented. Without thinking much, Shiena stepped out of the way to let her enter and closed the door behind her.

"Otoya… is everything alright?"

Otoya didn't answer right away. She sat down on the couch, looking lost in her thoughts.

"I'd like a coffee. Black, no sugar," Otoya requested, absentmindedly.

Shiena didn't protest and proceeded to make her coffee. Whatever was bothering Otoya might affect her, so better to keep her satisfied for now. She put some water to boil and when it was ready she poured a cup of coffee for her girlfriend and brought it to her.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Otoya took a sip of her coffee.

"You may sit too."

"Oh, sure!"

Shiena sat next to Otoya, nervously waiting for her girlfriend to say anything. The latter eventually put her cup down and gently stroked Shiena's hand.

"Shiena, how is… your relationship with your parents," Otoya suddenly asked.

The brunette wasn't expecting this question.

"My parents… I don't really have any contact with them anymore. They were always so busy with their work so they ended up neglecting me… They were absent most of my life. I was an accident, you know. They never wanted me. They never loved each other, and I doubt they ever cared about me…"

Otoya's hand was now caressing her thigh.

"I'm sorry," Otoya said.

She sounded sincere but Shiena knew Otoya was incapable of genuine empathy. Yet part of her desperately wanted to believe that deep down, Otoya cared.

"My parents weren't the best either," Otoya added. "I told you. My father murdered my mom and tried to do the same for me. He was a monster. He abused us both. And I killed him."

Otoya's eyes suddenly looked dreamy and nostalgic.

"I loved my mom. She was a wonderful woman. The most beautiful. And he took her away from me. He stole her beauty… I missed her so much…"

Shiena instinctively grabbed Otoya's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry, Otoya…"

Otoya gently squeezed Shiena's hand and smiled softly.

"I'm fine now," Otoya said. "At least I still have fond memories of my mother… I don't think you can say the same, do you?"

"Yeah… my father was just indifferent towards me, but my mother… she always resented me… for being born. She thinks I ruined her life. And she hates me even more after I was accused of murder. I stained her reputation, you see. She even came to visit me at the asylum, just to add fuel to the fire. I was so drugged and I remember… telling her that I wish I could just kill her."

Shiena wasn't even sure if that encounter even happened. But regardless, those were still her true feelings.

"She sounds like a real cunt. No offence."

"None taken."

"So you hate her?" Otoya asked.

"Well, I can't say I particularly love her. Hate is a strong word, but I do resent her, yes. She had never been a mother to me, so I can't really call her my mom. I just wish she could disappear from my life."

Otoya was getting closer to her. Shiena didn't resist when she suddenly kissed her. Nor when she pushed her on the couch and started to undress her.

She would be lying if she said she didn't want this too anyway.

* * *

Shiena didn't feel anything particular. It happened so many times now. Not that she became insensitive, just used to it- jaded, one might say. It wasn't like her personal feelings would change anything about the situation anyway.

The car stopped in front of a luxurious apartment building. Shiena got out and looked up. The sky was starting to get darker with grey clouds. It was going to rain. She could even hear thunder like a bad omen for an imminent tragedy.

"This way," one of the cops told them.

Shiena followed Chitaru and Tokaku inside the building. The crime scene was in an apartment on the third floor. After they took the elevator, the AKA agents headed for the specific apartment. Room 14. Medical analysts were already there, collecting any evidence related to the murder.

"The victim is in the bedroom over there," one of the analysts said.

Without much hesitation, they headed for the bedroom. There was so much blood that they could smell it when they entered. Lying on the bed was a woman, her body awfully mutilated. From where she was, Shiena couldn't see well, but she noticed that the woman had long wavy brown hair. An analyst was taking samples from her corpse.

"Do we have a name for the victim?" Chitaru asked.

"Not yet. We are still looking for an ID," the analyst replied.

Shiena got closer so she could have a better look. The woman's face was covered in blood, but even so, Shiena immediately recognized her and went catatonic.

"... Mom?"

* * *

_This woman who looked so much like her was standing in front of her, staring at her with an accusatory glare. Shiena remembered her. She was Yamada Yuu, the woman Otoya murdered to send her a message, this poor woman whose only crime has been looking like her. "It's your fault," her eyes seemed to say. "I died because of you."_

_No matter how many times Shiena apologized, Yamada Yuu was still haunting her. Otoya may be the one who killed her, but Shiena had her blood on her hands._

_Shiena could feel the warm liquid dripping from her hands, the crimson liquid staining her hands forever. She looked at them, both red with the blood of the innocents who died because of her. _

_The brunette looked back at Yamada Yuu, but it wasn't her anymore. Instead, standing in front of her was another brown-haired woman, older, much prettier._

"_... Mom…"_

"_You did this to me. You ruined my life ever since the moment you were born until you finally took it!"_

_Tears started to roll on Shiena's cheeks._

"_I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"_

_Horrible lacerations started to appear on her mother's body, blood pouring everywhere. She let out a scream of agony as she collapsed to the floor._

"_Mom!"_

_Shiena rushed to her side, but it was too late. She was dead._

"_You killed her."_

_Shiena turned back, only to see her doppelganger- the same she saw at the asylum._

"_No… it wasn't me…" Shiena tried to protest._

"_Oh yes, it was you. You caused this. Her blood is on your hands- our hands," the other Shiena said with a sinister grin._

_Shiena instinctively looked at her hands and noticed that she was holding a pair of bloody scissors- the murder weapon._

"_No… it can't be…"_

"_Yes, it is. Congratulations, Shiena. You finally killed the mother you resented so much. Doesn't it feel great?"_

"NO!"

Shiena woke up with a jolt. Her body was sweaty and she was breathing heavily. Another of those awful nightmares that were now constantly haunting her nights.

She had been taken off the case. Obviously, since the victim was her mother. There was a conflict of interest. Shiena didn't even protest and passively accepted a forced vacation, confined to her apartment. She wasn't considered a suspect, but given her recent arrest, it was best for her to keep a low profile.

Shiena looked at the clock. It was already passed noon. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she knew that not eating would certainly not help. And a cup of coffee wouldn't hurt, either.

She left her room. Her apartment was a mess, but she didn't care. She wasn't in the mood to clean anyway.

As she headed for the kitchen, she suddenly froze.

Her front door was wide open.

"Shiena."

The brunette jolted and turned back. Otoya was standing there, looking dangerously emotionless.

"O-Otoya…!?"

"Sorry for the intrusion. I knocked but there was no answer, so I got worried and let myself in."

Shiena didn't know what to say. She just stood there, frozen with fright.

"I tried to call you. I texted you. You didn't reply. Are you ignoring me?"

Otoya started to step towards her and Shiena panicked.

"Don't come any closer!" Shiena exclaimed.

Otoya stopped, seeming surprised and confused.

"What's wrong, Shiena-chan?"

Shiena clenched her fist, fear fading away to let place to anger.

"You… you killed her… You killed my mother!"

Otoya remained quiet at the accusation until she tilted her head.

"Yeah? So?"

Shiena couldn't believe what she had just heard. How could she just stay indifferent when she just murdered her mother? Then she remembered: it was Otoya. Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century. A psychopathic serial killer. She was the one who had been naive and stupid enough to even be surprised.

"'So?' Did you really just fucking say that?! It was my mother! You fucking murdered my mother!"

"But… you hated her! You even told her that you'd kill her!"

"Not literally! As if I'd kill anyone! I never asked you to kill her!"

"Who cares? You hated that bitch and wished she was out of your life, well your wish was granted. You're fucking welcome."

When Otoya stepped dangerously closer to her, Shiena recoiled.

"Don't! Get out! I don't want to see you! Did you even think of how it would make me feel? Of course not. You don't care about others, you only care about yourself!"

"I do care about you! How can you even say I don't!? I did it for you, you ungrateful-"

"I never asked you to! I never wanted this! I'm sick of people dying because of me, I'm sick of _you _killing people because of me! I don't want any more death on my conscience, don't you get it!?"

"This is so self-righteous… You're the one who only cares about yourself! I took risks for you, and this is how you thank me? By complaining about your 'feelings' being hurt? If you didn't want her dead, then you should have just said so!"

"That doesn't give you the right to take away a human life!"

"Huh, hello? I'm a bloody serial killer and an assassin! Taking human lives is literally my thing. You never cared about all the others I killed so why bitch now just because it was your mother? This is so hypocritical."

"You think I don't care? I loathe myself for being with you! I feel bad whenever you kill someone! I hate myself for that!"

"Feeling bad over things you didn't even do yourself? That's peak stupidity! It's not like you killed your mother yourself-"

"It's as if I did! I have her blood on my hands now because of you!"

"I killed her, not you! Don't credit yourself for my hard work! As if you'd have the guts to kill your own mother like I did…!"

Otoya suddenly stopped talking.

"You… you said your father did…?!"

"He did. He killed her… It was all his fault!"

Otoya tried to grab Shiena who immediately pushed her away.

"Don't fucking touch me! You said your father was a monster? Well, you grew up exactly like him! You're a fucking monster-"

Shiena suddenly felt a violent pain on her face, right near her left eye. She staggered a little, seeing stars, before she finally collapsed to the floor.

It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened. Otoya had punched her right in the face. There was a pulsating pain in her head and everything looked blurry around her. She was too dizzy to get back on her feet yet.

"Shit," she heard a voice who seemed so distant. "Shiena- Shiena-chan, hey, are you alright? I'm sooo sorry, it was an accident, I swear!"

As if punching someone in the face could ever be just an accident. When Shiena started to regain consciousness, she hardly got back on her feet and, before Otoya could say anything, she ran to her bedroom and closed the door, before locking it.

"Shiena!" Otoya yelled. "Open the fucking the door! Shiena!"

Otoya was violently banging in the door. Shiena dropped to her knees and started shivering and sobbing in fear. Her head hurt but she didn't care. She could feel something dripping from her face but didn't mind. All she could focus on was her terror- the legitimate fear of dying.

The violent knocking eventually stopped.

"Shiena-chan, please open the door," Otoya said with a soft voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I went too far. I was wrong. Please open the door so we can talk about it, okay? I swear I'm not mad. I won't hurt you anymore."

Shiena continued to shiver and sob, unable to properly think.

"Shiena. I'm asking you for the last time. Open. The. Door. Don't make me force it open."

Shiena eventually heard something playing with the handle. Following her survival instincts, the brunette got up and grabbed her chair.

Otoya opened the door, but she had barely stepped inside that she was welcomed by a violent hit on the head with the chair. Otoya let out a grunt and collapsed to the ground, inert. Shiena remained paralyzed for a moment, her heart racing like crazy. She eventually came back to her senses and spotted her bag- the one she brought to Otoya's house when she stayed there and hadn't unpacked yet, and grabbed it. She instinctively also grabbed her laptop before leaving the room and ran away from her apartment without a second thought.

* * *

**I bet you didn't see that coming huh.**

**Shiena neither.**


	35. A Child in an Adult Body

**Warning: Implied sexual content**

* * *

She had lost count of how many drinks she had. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to feel numb and forget about what was on her mind.

As she finished another drink, Otoya spotted a beautiful woman all on her own, on the other side of the bar. Her predator instincts kicked in as she licked her lips and approached the woman.

"May I offer you a drink?" Otoya said with her most charming smile.

It didn't take her very long to get the other woman drunk and they left, almost aggressively making out in the bathroom. Otoya thought that she needed this; some beautiful woman to make her forget about the one who broke her heart, some quick fuck, and maybe even a murder? Who knows. She was so intoxicated herself that she had no idea what she was doing anymore.

She then felt the woman's hand slipping under her shirt, softly brushing against her stomach before she cupped one of her breasts. Their lips parted away and the woman smiled at her as she got on her knees. Otoya pressed on the woman's head, stroking her, feeling her soft and straight hair through her fingers.

It wasn't as soft as Shiena's hair though. Her hair was curly and frizzy but oh so fluffy to touch. She loved to pet her hair and the way they brushed against her thighs whenever Shiena went down on her. Otoya couldn't get over that feeling, the softness, gosh she wished she could touch it right now instead of this boring straight hair-

It wasn't working. No matter what she did, she couldn't get Shiena out of her mind. No amount of alcohol, sex or murder could make her forget the sweet and intense feeling she felt with her. Everything felt bland now and she hated to feel like the brunette had this kind of power over her.

"Stop," Otoya suddenly said.

The woman stopped and looked up, confusion in her eyes.

"You didn't like that-"

"I'm just not in the mood anymore."

Immediately, the woman rose up, staring at Otoya, offended.

"What the hell? You're the one who flirted with me and wanted this!"

"And now I don't. Can't you take a no?" Otoya replied back.

The woman looked like she wanted to reply but ultimately remained quiet. She glared furiously at Otoya for a moment before leaving the bathroom.

Otoya pulled up her pants and zipped it back up. She stayed standing there for a moment before she clenched her fist and punched in one of the mirrors.

"FUCK!"

Some shards lacerated her hand but Otoya didn't care. She was too drunk to even feel it. She retracted her fist, realizing that it was now bleeding. She instinctively brought her injured hand to her face and started lapping clean her wound before smiling bitterly.

"It tastes bitter when it's your own blood."

She felt a violent pain in her stomach. She immediately reached out for a toilet to throw up. She definitely drank too much.

After she was done puking out all she had, she grabbed some toilet paper to wipe her mouth clean. Then, realizing her wound was still bleeding, she grabbed some more toilet paper to make herself a cheap bandage and let herself fall to the floor, leaning against the toilet stall.

She pulled out her phone and, with some hesitation, dialled a number.

* * *

She couldn't sleep. Not only because it wasn't her bed nor her room, but because she was utterly terrified and filled with regrets.

After rolling in bed for hours waiting to finally fall asleep in vain, Shiena gave up. She turned the light on and headed for the bathroom to get a glass of water. She was welcomed by her bruised reflection in the mirror, a mark that was a constant reminder of the consequences of her actions.

Near her left eye was a bruised cut, the result of Otoya's punch. The wound wasn't deep enough to require medical assistance but Shiena was still worried that it might get infected or that she could have some internal injury. But she was too damn afraid to go to the hospital.

Shiena cleaned her wound and filled herself a glass of water. She went back to the bedroom. It was just some cheap motel room, spartan but sanitary. Way in her budget and really low profile, perfect to hide for an undetermined amount of time.

She was on forced vacation so it wasn't like she would miss work. Not like anyone would miss her, anyway. She knew she couldn't hide forever, but she needed some time to figure out what to do.

Trying to use Otoya to get information on Black Guild was a terrible idea. Not only did she put herself in danger, she also lied and deceived her own allies. She didn't know how she could get away with this. Otoya would most likely kill her if she found her, and if AKA arrested her, there was no doubt that she would out Shiena for keeping her secret. Shiena was screwed either way.

Shiena finished up her glass of water. She knew the good choice to do was to report Otoya, but she couldn't. Not only because she knew it would get her in trouble, but also because deep down, she didn't want to cause harm to Otoya.

She knew it was wrong, she tried to convince herself for so long that she was only using Otoya, that she actually despised and loathed her, but she knew it was wrong. She did have feelings for her and they wouldn't just fade away instantly. She just loved Otoya.

But she knew Otoya didn't love her back.

The bruise on her face was proof of this. Someone who loves you wasn't supposed to do that. You can't "accidentally" punch someone in the face. Otoya chose to hurt her, she chose to punch her, she wanted to harm her. And that isn't love. People like Otoya can't love. Shiena should have known better. She studied serial killers and psychopathy for so long and she knew psychopaths couldn't feel love and yet, she wanted to believe so badly that somehow, Otoya was capable of loving her and only her and that she was somehow special… Shiena realized now how dumb and naive she had been. She felt so pathetic right now.

_Bzzz_

She jolted when she heard her phone suddenly buzzing loudly against the coffee table. Without much thought at first Shiena stepped towards it but then stopped for a moment. She was having a bad feeling about this.

She took a few more steps, approaching with cautious and apprehension, and then froze when she saw the name of the caller.

Takechi Otoya.

Panic immediately seized Shiena. Her chest started to hurt and she had difficulty breathing. She was gasping desperately for air, her heart racing and her mind becoming more and more dizzy.

The phone finally stopped buzzing. But then it buzzed again and again and no matter how many times Shiena ignored it, it was still buzzing.

The brunette finally grabbed the phone and just turned it off so it wouldn't buzz anymore. But somehow, she could still hear the buzzing. It wasn't coming from the phone, she just constantly heard it in her head as the room started to feel like it was spinning around her.

There was a throbbing pain in her head. She couldn't bear it anymore. She rushed towards the fridge and grabbed a bottle of some cheap vodka (courtesy of the motel) and took a deep sip. She nearly choked on it. It was strong but she didn't care. She needed to numb the pain, the fear, any feelings, really. She just didn't want to feel anything anymore.

It didn't take much vodka to reach the effect desired. Really, three or four sips and Shiena was already wasted. She put the bottle on the floor and let herself fall, leaning against the wall as she sobbed softly, before finally falling asleep.

* * *

"Can you actually believe this? The audacity- no, the _ungratefulness_!"

Otoya spat out this last word with such bitterness and resentment. Suzu offered no answer at first, simply staring blankly at Otoya before she sighed.

"Takechi-san… I just woke up from a coma. I'm still hospitalized. I was shot," Suzu replied, putting emphasis on the word shot.

"I know that, no need to remind me constantly. This is about me, not you," Otoya dismissed.

Suzu sighed again, lying in her hospital bed. She was still plugged into various machines to keep her alive and was clearly heavily sedated. Regardless, Otoya considered that she was the one who had it worse.

"So, you said Kenmochi-san was mad at you for killing her mother, and you are upset because…?"

"Because she can appreciate what I did for her, of course! She doesn't even answer my calls!"

"... Murdering her mother?"

"Yes! She told me she hated her and that she thought about killing her. She even said she wanted her out of her life!"

"Takechi-san, a lot of people would say those words if they are really mad at someone, it doesn't mean you have to take it literally."

Otoya raised her arms in exasperation.

"How was I supposed to know that!? Why can't people just say what they actually want? How can they expect me to understand if they constantly say things that aren't meant to be taken literally? Am I just supposed to guess? I can't read people's minds!"

"Well, that's usually more about understanding the basics of the human mind and emotions rather than reading actual minds."

"Pff, 'human emotions'... I understand feelings! I manipulate people's emotions all the time!"

"Your understanding of feelings is extremely shallow as you yourself are really emotionally shallow. You may be able to understand and manipulate basic and obvious emotions, but I doubt you can understand them on a deeper level."

"That just proves my point! How could Shiena expect me to understand? She knows me better than anyone else!"

"Why did Kenmochi open up about her mother? Did she just decide to tell you on a whim?"

"Well, no, I started talking about my mother in hope she would talk to me about hers."

"So she never had an ulterior motive. She just told you because you told her about yours. As a way to bond with you."

Otoya didn't like where this was going.

"Are you implying that this is my fault?"

"I'm not trying to put the blame on anyone. I just feel like… you might be the one who had an ulterior motive. That you could have projected your own issues on Kenmochi-san and used her to justify them."

"That sounds like you are putting the blame on me."

"Well, perhaps I am, and perhaps you should stop being such a child and own up to your mistake for once."

Otoya clenched her fist. For a split-second, Suzu seemed worried, but she then stared back at Otoya. The serial killer had to admit, Suzu had some guts. And she could respect that. She allowed her body to relax and even let out a chuckle.

"Maybe you're right. I should be more understanding towards Shiena's feelings. After all, we can't all be as levelheaded and rational as me."

Suzu rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I wasn't expecting your visit, nonetheless to talk about your… couple problems. I thought you would be here for more… serious things."

"What else could be more important than my problems?"

"Huh, I don't know. The fact as I shot perhaps?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, terrible. You have all my sympathy."

"No, I mean… the fact Black Guild tried to kill me. I thought you were here to, you know, finish the job."

"Ah… nah. I don't care about Black Guild. Whether you are a double agent or not doesn't interest me and I have no intention of killing you if it doesn't benefit me."

"That's so comforting…"

Otoya simply smiled. It was true. She had no idea if Suzu was a double agent and it didn't matter. But as long as Nio though she was, it let Otoya off the hook regarding her own betrayal for proving Shiena's innocence. It was a shame that Suzu ended up injured by Otoya's ploy, but at least she wasn't dead. For now.

"I still don't know why they thought I was a double agent. What could have made them think that?"

"I have no idea either," Otoya replied with such an innocent smile. "Anyway, I have to go. I wish you well in your convalescence and hope things will get better for you."

"Thanks. I wish the same for you."

Still smiling, Otoya left the hospital room and pulled out her phone.

* * *

_Knock knock knock_

It was the third time she knocked and still no answer. Was Shiena just absent? Was she just ignoring her again? Otoya was tempted to just force the door open but she knew it wasn't the best option, given the recent events. If she acted too "aggressive" it would just scare Shiena even more. She might think Shiena was overreacting, but she still acknowledged that she needed to be understanding and patient. For the sake of their relationship- and most importantly, her pleasure.

"Shiena-chan? Are you there? Please, I just want to talk. I'm sorry for what happened. It was totally my fault. I should have thought about your feelings. Please Shiena-chan just talk to me. I love you so much!"

Still no answer. Otoya waited a little bit more, knocked once again, and lost patience.

"Very well. I gave you a chance. You asked for it."

Otoya took a hairpin and started picking the lock. As usual, it was an easy task and the door came unlocked. She opened the door and stepped inside the apartment.

"Shiena?" Otoya called.

No answer. Otoya looked around. No sign of Shiena.

Everything in the apartment looked exactly the same. No objects had moved, the trash on the ground was still there, a few drops of blood was on the floor as well as the broken chair Shiena used to knock her out. There was even dust accumulated on the furniture- more than usual.

Shiena never came back after she knocked her out and ran away.

Upon this realization, Otoya grabbed the first object she could get her hand on- a mug, and threw it on the wall with all her strength.

_Crack!_

"You little…"

Otoya took a deep breath to calm down and pulled out her phone.

"You won't get away this time, Shiena."

* * *

"Hey, hi! I wasn't expecting to meet you here," Otoya said with enthusiasm.

Haru stopped, holding what appeared to be a strawberry milkshake, and a smile beamed on her face.

"Hey, Otoya-san! What a coincidence to meet you here."

Otoya just continued to smile. Yes, a total coincidence. It wasn't as if Otoya had stalked Haru's social media in hope to find her location and tracked her down to this café. Or was it?

"Yep, a total coincidence. I just happened to be around and thought I could stop by the nearest café."

"This is the one I always go to because it's near my work. And their strawberry milkshakes are the best," Haru said with a cheery smile.

"Oh, is that so. May I have a taste?"

"Of course!"

Haru looked so innocent. Wasn't she supposed to be Shiena's coworker? A secret agent at AKA? If they allowed people like that in their agency, no wonder they never caught Otoya. Haru looked like a total airhead, naive and docile. Just the type of woman Otoya would have no problem deceiving.

Gosh, she wished she could just bring Haru to her bed. And make her bleed.

"Thanks!" Otoya replied with a bright smile as she took a sip of Haru's drink. Not her type of drink at all, but it was decent. "You were right. It's delicious!"

"Right?"

Haru then took a sip herself and Otoya smirked.

"Indirect kiss~"

Haru lightly blushed at that comment. So cute.

"O-Otoya-san…!"

"I'm just joking. I'm already taken, after all."

Technically, Shiena never officially broke up with her, so it wasn't a lie.

"Well, I am too," Haru said, smiling with a dreamy look on her face.

"Oh, is that so?"

Otoya didn't recall hearing that Haru had a lover. Not that she would have cared.

"Yes! One of my coworkers, Tokaku!" Haru said enthusiastically.

'Tokaku'? What a strange name. Well, if this person was her coworker, it must be another agent. Probably another airhead too.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Otoya suddenly asked.

"Sure."

"Do you… um, it may sound weird, but, uh, I can't get a hold of Shiena-chan. I tried going to her apartment but she wasn't there. Do you know what's up with her? I'm really worried about her."

Haru seemed surprised by her question.

"Shiena-san isn't at her place?"

"... Is she supposed to be?"

"Well, yeah. She was supposed to stay home until the current investigation is over."

"What investigation?"

"She hadn't told you?"

Otoya shook her head in response.

"Well, uh, I'm not supposed to discuss investigations with civilians, but I guess you deserve to know. Regarding the investigation on Jacki- I mean, Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century, the latest victim was… her mother."

Otoya gave her her best imitation of a shocked face.

"Oh my God! That's horrible, poor Shiena-chan."

"Given that the victim was related to her, she was removed from the investigation and asked to remain at home for her own safety. But if she isn't there, then…"

"Haru. Who's that?"

Someone walked towards them. At first glance, one might think it's a guy, but Otoya knew how to spot a woman when she saw one.

"Tokaku!" Haru exclaimed.

So this was Haru's lover. Not quite the airhead she was picturing. She looked quite stern, even hostile. Opposite attract, she guessed.

"This is Otoya-san," Haru replied brightly. "Shiena's girlfriend."

As soon as she heard that, Tokaku glanced at her. Otoya could see the suspicion in her eyes and couldn't understand.

"So you are the Takechi I heard about," Tokaku replied.

What did she look so on her guard? They had literally just met.

_Ring ring_

Otoya instinctively went for her phone, before realizing it wasn't hers.

"Oh, sorry, it's mine. I gotta take it," Haru said as she pulled out her phone and walked away a little to talk privately.

Otoya was tempted to leave as Haru revealed herself to be useless (and a waste of time) and that she couldn't even have some fun with her, given her girlfriend who kept glaring at her. Perhaps she could be useful somehow.

"So, Tokaku-san…"

"Call me Azuma."

"Right. Azuma-san. Are you familiar with Shiena-chan?"

"She's my coworker. That's it," Tokaku replied coldly.

She didn't sound very fond of Shiena. It could explain the animosity towards her. But why would someone dislike someone like Shiena?

"Do you happen to have any news from her? I can't get a hold of her," Otoya asked with an embarrassed smile.

"She's ignoring your call huh?"

Otoya didn't like the phrasing but she played along.

"I guess she's just busy…"

"Or she doesn't want to talk to you," Tokaku interrupted.

She really really didn't like what she was insinuating.

"Don't be silly. Why wouldn't she want to talk to me? We're dating! That must just be a big misunderstanding-"

"People dating don't ignore each other unless there's something wrong with the relationship. Maybe you should just take a hint and leave her alone."

Gosh. Otoya really wished they weren't in public so she could give her a piece of her mind- preferably with a sharp object. But really, Tokaku wasn't her type- she looked too much like a man. Not even a cute tomboy or a sexy butch, just a rough, uncharismatic man. Such a turn-off.

"You don't seem fond of me huh," Otoya said with a soft smile.

Tokaku stepped closer from her, gazing right into her eyes.

"You have the eyes of a liar," Tokaku said with contempt. "I don't trust you. You look fake and you reek like bullshit. I hate people like you."

Well, finally someone honest, at least. It would have been a pain for Otoya to try understanding her or pretend to be friendly towards her.

"Well, let's say the feeling is mutual, Azuma," Otoya replied with a grin that showed way too many teeth.

She didn't even wait for an answer before walking away, doubt in her mind as she started typing on her phone.

* * *

Shiena hadn't touched her phone in days. She didn't want to take the chance of stumbling on a message from Otoya. She was too stressed and afraid to sleep on her own and regularly needed a few shots of vodka to finally calm down. But getting wasted every single day was starting to badly affect her health. She could barely eat anymore.

Trying to focus on something else she started rummaging through her bag, desperate for some distraction. Her hand then felt a particular object she couldn't quite recognize. Something small, metallic, with a chain… She pulled it out and froze when she saw it.

It was a necklace made of a silver heart with an amethyst stone. Otoya's Christmas present for her.

This brought back some fond memories, back when she didn't know Otoya was a serial killer. She used to be so sweet back then, so charming, kind, caring… She now knew it was all just an act, but part of her still cherished those memories.

Otoya was a monster but she wanted to believe so badly that deep down, she did hold genuine love for her, or at least cared about her. She knew she did love Otoya. Was she the one in the wrong? Was it wrong for her to expect Otoya to behave a certain way, given that she was biologically incapable of empathy? Should she be more accepting of her mental condition?

She punched her, true. This was unacceptable in a relationship. But could she really hold a psychopath to the same standard as others?

Shiena knew she shouldn't have those thoughts, but she couldn't help it. She missed Otoya.

Without any common sense, she grabbed her phone and turned it on. She had over twenty missed calls and multiple messages.

All from Otoya.

Shiena gulped before she started listening to the messages.

"._.. Hey, Shiena-chan… are you there?_"

By her voice, Shiena could guess Otoya was drunk when she recorded it.

"_Maybe you are just sleeping… Please call me back when you have this message. I miss you. I'm sorry._"

It almost sounded sweet. If Otoya was really drunk, then she must have been more likely to be honest, right?

She then listened to the second message.

"_I get it. I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. Killing your mother was wrong and I shouldn't have hit you. Can we please talk in person and solve this issue like reasonable adults? Please call me back._"

That didn't sound so bad. At least Otoya was acknowledging her mistakes, right?

Time for the third message.

"_Are you fucking kidding me!? You haven't been home for days?!_"

Well, this one didn't start well.

"_I've been to your apartment. You never came back, did you? After you assaulted me and left me unconscious on the floor? Do you really think you can hide from me? You better come back to me before I lose my patience. Answer your damn phone!_"

Shiena's heart started racing. This message sounded more threatening than the other two. She wasn't sure if she wanted to keep listening.

She listened to the fourth one anyway.

"_I've been patient enough with you Shiena. Even after I apologized to you, you keep ignoring me. I cared about your feelings but you didn't care about mine. I'm done going soft on you. I'll find you, and you'll be the one to be sorry._"

Shiena nearly dropped the phone. This last message sounded so ominous.

_Bzzz_

Her heart skipped a beat and she dropped the phone, before seeing who was the caller.

Takechi Otoya.

Shiena grabbed the phone and did what she should have done since the beginning.

She blocked Otoya's number.

She let the phone fall and sighed in relief. Why didn't she think about that sooner?

_Bip_

She froze. Was it…?

_Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip Bip_

That was the sound of a notification on Facebook. With some apprehension, she opened the app and discovered she was being flooded by message texts.

All from Otoya.

"_Did you just fucking block me?!"_

_"Ungrateful bitch!"_

_"Unblock me right now or else..."_

_"Did you even love me? Were you just using me?"_

_"Answer me!"_

_"When I find you, and I will, I'll make you pay!"_

_"You'll regret taking my love for granted!"_

_"I'll come for you, be sure of that!"_

_"Just wait-"_

Shiena blocked Otoya again. She then dropped her phone, her heart beating like crazy, her chest starting to hurt. She couldn't bear it anymore. It had to stop. No matter what she had to do.

No matter the consequences.

Shiena took a deep breath. She had made up her mind. She grabbed back her phone and dialled a number.

"Namatame. There's something I need to confess…"

* * *

**I've been into multiple abusive relationships and I can totally understand what Shiena is going through. But she gotta do the right choice, ya know? Hopefully, things turn out for the best... or will they?**

**This chapter was mainly from Otoya's PoV. Usually, I focus more on Shiena's PoV to "preserve" the illusion of how Otoya portrays herself and how Shiena tends to perceive her, nice, sweet, friendly, charming, charismatic... but really, this is all just a mask. Otoya is an egotistical, self-absorbed, lying, manipulative, narcissistic psychopath and a total "womanchild" who has no remorse or empathy whatsoever.**


	36. The Calm before the Storm

"I know what you did."

Most people would be terrified if they heard such an ominous voice behind them while walking through a backstreet. But not Otoya. After all, fear was an emotion that was completely unknown to her. People feared her, not the other way around.

Putting on her best smile, Otoya turned back.

"Huh? What did I do, _sister-san_?" Otoya said innocently.

Kouko was glaring at her with such contempt in her eyes.

"You visited Suzu at the hospital, didn't you?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with me visiting a friend…?"

"Don't you dare call her your friend after what you did to her!"

Otoya stopped smiling, tilting her head.

"Did to her…? I didn't do anything to her," Otoya replied, confused.

"You denounced her to Kuzunoha! It's because of you she tried to get her assassinated! You made her think that Suzu was a double agent!" Kouko accused.

Oh, that. Well, denouncing her was a strong word. All she did was point Nio towards Suzu so she wouldn't be suspected herself. Not that she would tell Kouko.

"What? I would have never denounced Shutou-san!" Otoya exclaimed, feigning offence. "She's my friend! And what would I denounce her about? Whether she was a double agent or not, it's not like she would have told me, you know."

"Don't play innocent. You insinuated to Kuzunoha that she helped Kenmochi escape from the asylum. Don't try to lie to me!"

Shit. It seemed that Kouko knew too much for her to lie. Why does she know anyway? Why would Nio have told her? Unless…

A smirk appeared on Otoya's lips.

"You're talking as if I was the one who pulled the trigger, but we both know who truly did," Otoya said, grinning.

At those words, Kouko looked tense.

"What are you insinuating, Takechi?"

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean. You are the one who shot Shutou-san, don't you?"

Kouko's eyes widened for a moment before she clenched her fists. Otoya chuckled.

"So I was right. You did shoot Shutou-san! Kuzunoha told you about her suspicion and asked you to kill her, am I right?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Kouko finally snapped back. "If you didn't say those things to Kuzunoha, she would have never asked me to do that!"

"Tsk, keep blaming me for your actions. Can you even take responsibility?" Otoya taunted.

"I don't want to hear this from someone who murdered her girlfriend's mother and refuses to see why she is upset."

Otoya turned stoic.

"So Shutou told you huh… So much for patient confidentiality…"

"She's not your goddamn therapist!"

"Regardless, you can't blame me for what happened to her when you are the one who pulled the fucking trigger."

"Takechi, I swear to God, you won't get away with this!"

"And what are you going to do? Shoot me too? Please. You can't even kill someone you shot from a close distance."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. I won't risk getting in trouble with Black Guild for a pest like you. No, I intend to hurt you in the same place you hurt me."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

A sinister smile appeared on Kouko's lips.

"With Kenmochi, of course."

Otoya's gaze turned dark.

"You wouldn't hurt an innocent woman, would you?"

"I'm an assassin Takechi. I've killed countless innocent people."

"And what makes you think I'd care if you kill Shiena?"

"Oh, you clearly care about her… in your own twisted way. You wouldn't have gone so far for her otherwise."

"She rejected me. She broke my heart. I don't care what happens to her. Do what you want to her."

"Who said I would kill her anyway? After all, Suzu isn't dead. That wouldn't be a fair deal. But I'm sure AKA would love to hear how she covered up for you. This time, I don't think she would avoid jail."

"I don't care."

"Fine. Let me give them a call. An anonymous tip," Kouko said as she pulled out her phone.

Otoya remained impassive as Kouko started to dial a number. When the black-haired girl was about to call, Otoya stepped further.

"If you do that, I'll tell Kuzunoha that you purposefully let Shutou live as well as which hospital she's in!"

Kouko nearly dropped her phone. Slowly, she turned it off, gazing at Otoya.

"So you do care about Kenmochi. Interesting."

"Pff, don't make me laugh. The bitch hurt me, if anyone is gonna harm her, it will be me and only me," Otoya denied.

"Then we are settled. Stay away from Suzu and I'll stay away from Kenmochi. Deal?"

Otoya had to fight the urge to just jump on Kouko and forced herself to smile.

"Deal. Would you happen to know where Shiena-chan is?" Otoya asked sweetly.

Kouko adjusted her glasses and smiled back.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. Take a hint, would you? She clearly doesn't want to see you."

Kouko walked away, leaving Otoya in a worse mood than she had been in before.

* * *

Otoya must have been waiting for hours. She might not be known for her patience, but when she was motivated by pure anger, Otoya could wait days just to see her vengeance be successful. The sun had long since set and the air was much chillier. Despite that, she was standing still, not shivering, staring at the bar with an almost inhumane focus.

Then finally, she came out. Nio left her bar, locking the door behind her. Otoya could only feel rage and hatred when she saw her, the person she considered responsible for all her misery. She lost Shiena because of her, and she will make her pay.

With an angry smirk on her face, Otoya discreetly followed Nio, planning to ambush her somewhere isolated. She thought she had an occasion when she reached an empty parking lot before she noticed that they weren't alone. Seemingly waiting for her was a voluptuous woman.

Otoya hid behind a car, observing what was going on. She was too far away to hear and it was too dark for her to recognize the woman with Nio.

The two seemed to be having an argument before Nio gave her an envelope. They then parted ways. Otoya was tempted to just forget about that and continue to follow Nio, but she had a bad feeling about that other woman and why Nio met up with her. Pushing aside her grudge for her curiosity, Otoya decided to follow the other woman.

"_I'll get you another time, Kuzunoha._"

* * *

Shiena shivered slightly. She may be wearing a hoodie, but it was especially chilly tonight. She didn't want to be outside, especially not at this hour, but she was in serious need of some booze. There was no more at her motel room and she couldn't sleep, that and an awful headache. She wasn't going too far away from her motel, just to the convenience store down the street.

There was no one in the street. No wonder, given that it was the middle of the night. She passed through a backstreet behind the store, feeling somewhat nervous but eager to finally be inside.

"Excuse me, do you know what time it is?" a feminine voice asked.

Shiena froze for a moment before she sighed. She didn't know that voice- probably just some random woman who was lost or drunk. She pulled out her phone to look at the time and then turned back.

"It's 4 o'clock-"

A violent pain suddenly struck her right in the face and she collapsed to the ground. Shiena remained shocked for a moment, unable to move or think properly. Then the fresh pain on her face brought her back to reality. Her cheek felt like it was burning and there was blood pouring from her lower lip. Shiena managed to sit down and take a look at her assaulter.

It was indeed a woman- She looked tall, busty, and quite sexy. Not the kind of woman she would expect to randomly assault you at night.

"Oops, sorry. I didn't mean to make you bleed. After all, I absolutely hate the sight of blood."

Shiena had no intention of staying here and discovering why this woman attacked her. She quickly rose up and started running away.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere little bunny!"

The brunette got violently kicked in the back and lost her balance, twisting her ankle as she once again fell to the ground. This time, she wasn't able to get back on her feet.

"How rude. I just wanted to talk with you, Kenmochi-san."

Shiena felt her heart skipping a beat. Whoever this woman was and why she attacked her, she knew her name. This wasn't just a random attack.

"W-Who… who are you?"

The woman smirked.

"Who I am is irrelevant. What I'm going to do to you is not."

On those words, she kicked Shiena right in her ribcage. The brunette started to violently cough, curled up in pain on the ground. Her assaulter then suddenly grabbed her by her hood and threw her with strength against the fence. She was then welcomed with another punch in the stomach, which momentarily made her breathless. Then another punch, this time on her collarbone, quickly followed by one on her chin. Shiena coughed up some blood as tears started to bead in her eyes. She weakly raised her arms in a pathetic attempt to protect herself from the assault.

"P-Please, stop! I'll do anything you want but please, stop!" Shiena cried out desperately.

Much to her surprise, the assault stopped. The woman suddenly grabbed her by the collar, pinning her against the fence, grinning at her.

"Reaaaalllyyy? You'll do aaaanything I want?"

Shiena knew nothing good would come from that, but she preferred taking the risk rather than being beaten to death and weakly nodded. The woman chuckled as she pressed her body against Shiena's, her face so close that she could feel her warm breath.

"Then, how about you tell me everything you know about Black Guild?"

Shiena's eyes widened. So this was related to Black Guild… was that woman sent by Otoya? Or was she an enemy? Regardless, Shiena didn't want to answer.

"... Black Guild? W-What's that?"

"Wrong answer, Kenmochi-san."

Shiena felt the woman's hand brushing her side before she suddenly pressed on her injured ribs, eliciting a cry of pain from her.

"Come on, Kenmochi-san. I'm not a sadist. I actually dislike blood and screams, you know. Just tell me what I want to know and your pain will be over."

The woman put more pressure on her ribs and Shiena was about to break and tell her everything.

"Let her go."

The woman released her collar and Shiena fell to the ground, too weak to do otherwise. The voice sounded so gloomy yet calm. The woman turned back and looked surprised. Shiena weakly raised her head and felt terrified when she recognized the person.

"Well well, isn't it Jackie?"

"Stay away from her, Isuke. Trust me, you don't want to do that," Otoya warned.

"Oh, really? What makes you think that? Or do you perhaps think you stand a chance against me?"

Shiena was shivering in fear. It truly was the worst possible outcome. Not only was she being assaulted, but her psycho ex-girlfriend also found her.

"It's not me you should be afraid of. Well, you should be afraid of me, but if you hurt this girl any more, you won't have to worry about just me."

Was Otoya… here to save her? It seemed unbelievable. Yet, she seemed genuinely furious with this Isuke girl for hurting her.

"Pff, who should I be worried about?" Isuke taunted.

"Whoever is above Kuzunoha."

"Uh… what do you mean?"

"Kuzunoha is the one who gave you this order, right? And let me guess, she expects you to kill Shiena afterward."

"Yeah, she does."

"But what if I tell you the head of Black Guild, the one giving orders to Kuzunoha, actually doesn't want Shiena dead? How do you think this person would feel if you kill her?"

For the first time, Isuke showed concern.

"Don't screw with me! Kuzunoha gave me this order, she's the one responsible!"

"And you seriously think Kuzunoha will take the blame? Of course not. She'll deny even requesting it and pretend you killed Shiena of your own will. Do you know what happens to traitors, Isuke? Maybe you should ask obaa-chan. Oh, right. She has been eliminated. Too bad."

Isuke was starting to look more and more tense but tried to hide it with a cocky smile.

"You're just trying to scare me. Why should I believe you? How could you possibly know what the head wants?"

"Because they framed Shiena for my murders instead of just killing her. They have a plan for her which isn't death. Kuzunoha is deceiving you and has no problem with you dying. Or perhaps you won't be the target of the head's wrath. Maybe it will be people close to you who will lose their life, who knows?"

Shiena could swear she saw a cold sweat dripping from Isuke's forehead.

"Fine, I'll leave her alone… for now. I don't trust you, but I don't trust Kuzunoha either. I always knew there was something fishy with her sudden request… "make Kenmochi Shiena tell you everything she knows about Black Guild, then kill her" isn't the type of work she usually gives me. I really didn't want to, trust me. I'm not into torture."

Isuke wiped off the blood on her hands and walked away. Shiena was tempted to sigh in relief but she knew she wasn't out of trouble. Otoya was now staring at her, slowly walking towards her. Shiena instinctively recoiled, crawling on the ground, before she ended up cornered by the fence. All she could do was sob and shiver in fear, awaiting her cruel fate.

Otoya stopped in front of her and Shiena would have cried and begged for mercy if she didn't know how useless it was. Whatever Otoya had planned to do to her, nothing will change her mind, especially not sympathy.

Then, much to her surprise, Otoya smiled softly.

"Are you alright, Shiena-chan?"

Shiena didn't reply, too shocked and terrified to say anything. Otoya crouched and crawled towards her. The brunette instinctively tried to push her away but Otoya grabbed her arm.

"Shhh, don't worry, Shiena-chan. I'm not here to hurt you."

Otoya was now kneeling over her lap. Her face was so close to hers, Shiena almost thought that she was about to kiss her. But instead, Otoya licked the blood that was dripping from her injured lip.

"Poor Shiena-chan. It must really hurt huh? Let me take care of you."

Otoya then raised up and, with unusual gentleness, she lifted Shiena from the ground, holding her in her arms. Shiena didn't resist, feeling some comfort in Otoya's embrace. She finally allowed herself to sigh before everything turned dark.

* * *

Her body hurt like hell when she woke up, like she had fallen down the stairs or something. Just trying to move caused her excruciating pain. Her right ankle was throbbing in pain and she feared that it might be broken. Her face was burning with pain and she finally recalled what happened. She was assaulted by this Isuke woman, and then…

She was rescued by Otoya.

Upon remembering that, Shiena started to panic and actively tried to get up despite the pain.

"You shouldn't force yourself to move, Shiena. You're in no shape."

Shiena froze. She weakly raised her head and noticed Otoya, sitting by her side on the bed in her motel room. She gave her a warm smile.

"I'm glad you are okay, Shiena-chan."

Otoya seemed genuinely concerned for her. Shiena knew that it must be a ruse but then why did she save her? Softly, Otoya raised the blanket, revealing Shiena's half-naked body. She was only wearing her underwear and had a few bandages, mostly around her ankle and ribcage.

"I nursed you the best I could," Otoya replied.

"Are those… broken?"

"You sprained your ankle. It should be sensitive for a couple of days but it's nothing serious. For your ribs, I'm not sure. I don't think any are broken, but maybe cracked at some places. As long as you don't push yourself they should heal fine."

Shiena sighed. At least there was that. But it didn't change that Otoya's presence was still a threat.

"How did you know… it was my motel room?"

"Ah, I wasn't stalking you or anything, I swear! After you passed out, I found a key with a number on it in your pocket. Given that this was the only motel nearby I figured that it was where you were staying. I didn't want to bring you to my house since… I knew you wouldn't have felt comfortable there."

Did Otoya really… consider her feelings? That seemed so unlikely, yet, there was no reason why Otoya wouldn't have simply kidnapped her instead of bringing her back to her motel.

"Oh, I bought a couple of things for you!" Otoya added cheerfully as she started unpacking her bag. "Here's some painkillers, some snacks I know you love, and I noticed the empty bottle of vodka so I bought you some booze! There wasn't any vodka at the convenience store so I took Smirnoff, I hope it's fine."

Shiena looked at what Otoya bought. A bottle of Tylenol, some potato chips, and the cheap convenience store alcohol.

"T-Thanks…" Shiena said with a shivering voice.

Otoya smiled as she sat right next to Shiena, who couldn't help but feel tense. Even her heart was racing like crazy. Not that Otoya seemed to have noticed.

"I have been looking for you Shiena-chan. I was so worried," she said softly.

"Ah… yeah… I was just… I needed time alone. After what happened… between us… I was scared."

"Scared? Of me? Why?" Otoya asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well… you sent me… threatening messages… telling me that you'll find me and make me pay…"

Much to Shiena's surprise, Otoya started to laugh.

"Oh, that! Don't worry about it. I was just angry, angry people tend to be impulsive and say things they don't really mean. Regardless, I'm sorry if my words scared you, I really shouldn't have. I was just worried, you know? You weren't answering my calls and you weren't at home either, I thought that perhaps… something bad happened to you. And given that just happened, I guess I was right to be worried."

Shiena didn't know if she should trust Otoya, but at the same time, she _did_ save her life.

"This woman… Isuke, right? Why did she attack me? Is she from Black Guild too?"

"Yeah, she is. She was sent by our boss to kill you."

"This… Kuzunoha person, right?"

"Yeah. That cunt."

"But why?"

"She hates me. She suspected me to have helped you get out of the asylum. I denied it obviously but she still doubted me. She viewed you as a threat so she did everything she could to eliminate you, even pinning us against each other."

"What… what do you mean?"

Otoya sighed and looked genuinely sad.

"Your mother… I didn't kill her from my own free will. It was a contract. Kuzunoha gave her to me as a target," Otoya revealed.

Shiena couldn't believe what she just heard. So Otoya didn't just randomly kill her mother, she was ordered too.

"I knew right when I saw her picture that Kuzunoha was trying to trick me. I recognized your mother. I didn't want to kill her, I swear. But if I showed hesitation in front of Kuzunoha, she would have had me assassinated, and possibly you too. I acted as if I didn't notice and I wanted to make sure… that you loved your mother. I'm not allowed to talk about my targets outside Black Guild, and I was sincerely hoping you would have told me you loved your mother. For you, I swear, I would have disobeyed Kuzunoha, even if it would have put me in danger. You have to believe me that I never intended to hurt you! But when you told me how you hated your mother and how you wished she was dead… I thought I saw an opportunity for both of us to get through Kuzunoha's ploy. But I was wrong… I should have understood your feelings better. And trust me, I regret what I did!"

Otoya seemed sincere in her apology but it didn't excuse her violent behaviours.

"I… I understand you were in a difficult situation, but… you still hurt me. You punched me!"

"I'm really sorry! I was impulsive. I realized how I got manipulated by Kuzunoha and I thought you had been dishonest with me. I couldn't think straight anymore and I started seeing red… It doesn't excuse hitting you and I would understand if you can't forgive me. It's just… hard, you know? With this mental condition… I can't grasp right or wrong most of the time."

Shiena knew that it was true. Otoya was unable to have empathy, something so primordial to understand right and wrong. Such violent behaviour after being pushed so hard wasn't unexpected. And perhaps this time, Otoya learned from her mistake.

"I promise I'll never raise my hand on you ever again!" Otoya swore.

Shiena wanted to believe her. She really missed her. She still deeply loved her.

"It's fine, Otoya. I forgive you. It was all Kuzunoha's fault anyway, right? Thanks for saving me and taking care of me," Shiena said with a weak smile.

Otoya's eyes were almost beaming as she smiled too.

"I love you so much, Shiena-chan! Don't worry, I'll protect you from Kuzunoha, or anyone who might want to hurt you. You have my word!"

Somehow, Shiena felt like she could trust Otoya. She suddenly coughed and was assailed by pain.

"Shiena-chan! Do you want painkillers?"

"N-No, I'm fine… I just need some rest. I'm tired…"

"Oh, right. You look awfully exhausted. No offence."

"None taken."

"Well then, I'll leave. If anything happens, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"Okay… could you leave the painkiller and Smirnoff on the nightstand beside me please?"

"Sure, no problem."

Otoya put the bottle of Tylenol on the nightstand as well as a few Smirnoff canes.

"Good night, Shiena-chan. Sleep well."

"Thanks, Otoya."

Otoya smiled once again before she left the motel. Shiena grabbed the bottle of Tylenol and poured two in her hands. Just as she expected, their sight alone was enough to make her nervous. Ever since she was drugged in the asylum, she wasn't about to swallow pills.

She grabbed a Smirnoff and started drinking it. It wasn't strong enough to numb the pain away. She then looked at the pills and had an idea.

Using her glass, she crushed the pills until they became powder. She then put it in the glass and poured some Smirnoff in it. She knew that those kinds of pills made alcohol stronger.

After she stirred it a little, Shiena drank her improvised booze and it only took a few minutes to kick in after she fell into a deep coma-like sleep.

* * *

Otoya left the motel. She walked away down the street and, making sure she was alone, started laughing maniacally.

Shiena still loved her. Shiena forgave her. Shiena had faith in her.

Shiena belonged to her.

This thought alone made her grin with such malevolence as it started to rain, weak raindrops falling on her, but she couldn't care less. She then turned back to stare at the motel, still grinning, a hand on her face to calm her mad laughing.

Shiena will be hers forever. She didn't have a choice. If she even tried to leave her again.

_Otoya will kill her._


	37. The Storm

Shiena woke up with an awful headache. And it wasn't the only part of her body that was in pain.

Her ankle was still throbbing and her ribs felt like they had been crushed. Her face felt like it was burning while she had a hard time breathing due to pain in her chest. She coughed a little bit, which didn't help at all.

And she suddenly felt like she was about to throw up.

She was in no shape to rush to the bathroom with her injuries so instead she grabbed the trash can next to her bed and puked. When her stomach was finally empty and she had nothing left to vomit, Shiena dropped the trash can and let herself fall on her back in the bed, gasping for air.

The brunette was in desperate need of water. She could feel her body all sweaty, her dry lips, her headache- she was highly dehydrated.

With a lot of difficulties, Shiena managed to sit up. She grabbed her glass and noticed the painkillers. She crushed a few pills and once again put the powder in her glass. But this time, instead of adding alcohol, she headed for the bathroom, heavily limping, and filled it with water. She drank it all with great thirst. She let out a sigh of satisfaction before going back into the room to sit on her bed. She almost slept an entire day- it was now the next evening.

She remembered having reconciled with Otoya. She knew it was dumb, but she was in love. Only Otoya ever loved her, and it was special. Someone like Otoya shouldn't be able to love and yet, she loved her. Not only is their love special and unique, but Shiena must also be too, for Otoya to even have feelings for her. And deep down, she was convinced no one else would ever fall in love with her.

Then suddenly, she was hit by a violent realization.

"Namatame… no!"

Despite the pain, Shiena hurried to put on some clothes and her shoes, before rushing outside her motel room.

* * *

Everything was going for the best for Otoya. She fixed things with Shiena and was plotting her revenge against Nio for daring to get in the way of her love. She wasn't scared of her- Nio seemed to only be an underling, after all. It shouldn't be an issue if she gets rid of her. Whoever the big boss was, Nio clearly went against their wishes by trying to get Shiena killed. If anything, she should get rewarded for getting rid of the little pest.

Ah... She missed Shiena so much. She couldn't believe she was angry at her only a few hours ago- it just seemed impossible to be mad at her precious Shiena. She was the love of her life, the only thing that mattered, the only one who could understand her and accept her for who she was.

She simply couldn't let go of such a rare gem.

No one would ever love her true self… except Shiena.

_Knock knock knock_

Otoya froze. Who could that be, so late in the evening? Did Shiena wake up and come here? No, she would have called first.

A doubt emerged in her mind. What if it was an assassin sent by Nio to kill her as retaliation for stopping Isuke? After all, it was clear now that Nio was against her and didn't care what her boss wanted.

Carefully, Otoya walked towards the door, keeping her distance just in case.

"Who's there?" she called.

"Takechi? Are you there? It's me, Namatame."

"Namatame… who?"

"Namatame Chitaru. I'm Kenmochi's coworker. We met once, on her birthday."

Oh. That Chitaru. Otoya remembered. That handsome, sexy, big-breasted woman Shiena had a crush on- as well as Hitsugi's wife. What was she doing here?

"Oh, Namatame-san! I remember you. Is there a problem?"

"Yeah. Kenmochi disappeared. She was supposed to stay at home due to the current investigation, but she's not there. Given that you are dating, I was hoping you would know where she is- or if by chance she was with you."

Otoya sighed. So it was just that… Haru seemed shocked when she told her Shiena wasn't home, so it wasn't unlikely that she hadn't told Chitaru. She knew where Shiena was but obviously, she won't tell Chitaru. Shiena was hers after all- getting the support of her friends would only endanger their already fragile relationship. Shiena needed only her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where she is either… I tried to look for her but she wasn't home. I didn't know about the investigation…"

"May I come in please?"

"She's not here…"

"Open the door…! I mean, please… I just need to talk more with you, to see if I can get more clues…"

Chitaru sounded strangely desperate for her to open the door and Otoya was growing suspicious. She thought that perhaps she could push Chitaru to be frank by teasing her a little.

"We can talk just fine like this, Namatame-san. It's quite late and I'm looking awful, I removed my makeup and I'm barely clothed… That's embarrassing…"

No answer. Otoya was starting to think that perhaps Chitaru just left. But that seemed really unlikely.

_Slash!_

A crack appeared in the door as if it had been suddenly sliced. Otoya could see the tip of something that looked sharp like… a sword?

_Crack!_

The door was suddenly kicked and the crack just split in two, the door collapsing. In the doorframe was Chitaru, glaring at her with such murderous eyes, holding a sword.

"It's time to pay for your crimes, Takechi Otoya- no, Jack the Ripper!"

* * *

It was starting to rain. Shiena was soaked from head to toe, but she didn't care. She could be frozen, it didn't matter, she was still running. Well, running was generous- more like desperately limping while being in horrible pain. She was holding her phone, desperately trying to reach her girlfriend, in vain. There was no answer.

"Please Otoya answer me! You're in danger! Don't trust Namatame!" Shiena yelled on the phone as she left her a message.

Her ankle suddenly hurt like hell and Shiena stumbled to the ground. She had quickly raised her arms in front of her face to avoid hitting her head. Her hands were bleeding after getting scratched on the road. Shiena remained laying on the ground for a moment, her body making her suffer so much. Then, weakly, Shiena got on her knees, gasping and groaning in pain. The raindrops were dripping from her wet hair and her clothes were completely soaked, making them much heavier.

She used her uninjured leg to pull herself up and used the fence to keep standing. She was still panting, exhausted, and hurt. She couldn't even see around her, her glasses had fallen with her and she couldn't spot them in the deluge.

Limping as fast as she could while supporting herself, Shiena continued on her way.

"_Please Otoya, be safe. Please, don't be too late!_"

* * *

Otoya remained still. She could hear her phone ringing but she knew she couldn't go and pick it up. She had no idea how Chitaru found out, but it was a real pain in the ass. It looked like she would have to get rid of her- how will she explain this to Shiena? Perhaps she should find another solution. But for now, it was better to just play dumb.

Otoya gave her her best confused expression as well as slightly raising her arms as if she was afraid.

"N-Namamate-san?! What… What are you talking about? Please put down that sword!"

Chitaru stepped inside, still holding her sword, staring at Otoya.

"Don't try to fool me! I know the truth! You are the ripper! You murdered all those innocent women!"

"P-Please, you got it all wrong! I don't understand! Aren't you supposed to be a cop? Don't you need a warrant to bust into my house? And why a sword!?"

"My gun is only meant to be used in self-defense. I won't insult my profession by misusing it. A sword is good enough for the likes of you!"

Or she just didn't want her murder to be traceable back to her, Otoya thought.

Before Otoya could add anything, Chitaru jumped at her, ready to slice her up. Otoya knew that there was no chance to negotiate with her anymore, but she could still avoid confessing.

"I'll bring justice to all the women you killed! I'll bring justice to Kenmochi!" Chitaru exclaimed.

"... Justice to Shiena…?"

The blade slashed Otoya and a splash of blood splattered on the wall.

* * *

_"Namatame. There's something I need to confess…"_

_Shiena nervously clenched her phone, still unsure if she really wanted to do this._

_"Kenmochi!" Chitaru exclaimed. "Where are you? Ichinose told me you aren't at your apartment and you weren't answering my calls! I told you to stay at home! Where are you? Are you safe?"_

_"I… I'm not… someone is after me…"_

_"Someone? Who?"_

_"... Jack… the Ripper…"_

_"What?! You know who this bastard is?! Did they hurt you?"_

_"She… she punched me… and then threatened me… I'm scared… I don't know what to do…"_

_"Who is she?!"_

_For a slight moment, Shiena hesitated until she remembered what Otoya did to her._

_"T-Takechi… Otoya…"_

_"Huh?! You mean… your girlfriend!? How did you find out?"_

_"I… I knew for a long time… I was only dating her to get more information about Black Guild and I intended to tell you I swear! But it was a bad idea and now… I think she's going to kill me!"_

_There was a long silence at the other end and Shiena was worried that Chitaru might be mad at her._

_"Okay. I'll take care of this. Stay where you are and remain hidden. It will all be over soon."_

_Chitaru hung up the phone and Shiena let out a sigh, relieved._

* * *

Otoya let out a weak gasp of pain as she gripped her injured arm, her blood dripping from her fresh wound.

"You hurt her… you abused her… Were you using Kenmochi to toy with us!?" Chitaru shouted angrily.

Otoya instinctively recoiled, finding it harder to hide her true nature.

"What… are you… talking about!? I didn't abuse Shiena! I love her and she loves me!"

"A monster like you can't love! And Kenmochi certainly didn't love you, either! Who would love a psychopath like you!?"

Wow. That kind of hurt. But Otoya wasn't worried. She knew Shiena loved her. She had too.

As Chitaru was about to slash her again, Otoya pulled out a pair of scissors and blocked her blade before pushing her away, running to the living room. Chitaru chased her down and tried to stab her from behind but Otoya was quicker and threw a cushion at her. With a quick movement, Chitaru sliced it in half, her vision getting filled with feathers.

Otoya took advantage of this and rushed towards Chitaru, managing to stab her in the shoulder. Chitaru groaned in pain and managed to push Otoya away, keeping the scissors in her wound. She tried to strike Otoya with her sword, holding it with her weaker hand. Otoya had no problem kicking her wrist and made her drop her weapon.

"I'm not Jack the Ripper!" Otoya exclaimed. "I don't know why you think that, but you are wrong!"

"Are you telling me Kenmochi is a liar then?"

Otoya froze. What did she mean by that? Before she could ask, Chitaru punched her right in the face. Otoya reared back and received another punch, this time in the stomach. Otoya managed to stop Chitaru's third punch and elbowed her in the face before kneeing her in the stomach. She then tried to grab her by the collar but Chitaru seized her arm and lifted her before slamming her violently against the glass coffee table.

Otoya collided against the glass with great force, enough to break through. She could feel the shards slashing her flesh at multiple places on her back.

"Who do you think told me the truth? Kenmochi! She was just using you. She never loved you! She just wanted information on Black Guild!" Chitaru revealed.

Otoya couldn't believe what she heard. No, it couldn't be true…She couldn't have… lie to her like that and even worse, deceived her. Not after everything they went through together… not after everything she did for her!

"Shut up! Shiena loves me! She would have never-"

Before she could rise up Chitaru kicked her in the ribs repetitively until she wasn't moving anymore. She then straddled Otoya and put her hands around her neck, starting to strangle her.

Otoya tried to struggle and fight back, in vain. Chitaru was stronger than her, much to her annoyance.

"Na… Namatame… please… stop…"

"Begging for your life? Did your victims beg too when you cruelly tortured them to death? You didn't stop so why should I?"

"Because… don't you care… about your… wife… Kirigaya….!"

Chitaru instantly froze. Her hands were still around her neck but she wasn't putting as much strength anymore.

"What do you know about my wife!? How do you know her name? Answer me!" Chitaru asked frantically.

Otoya smirked. She quickly grabbed a shard of glass and stabbed Chitaru in the neck. The latter let out a weak cry as she jolted backward, desperately grabbing her throat to stop the bleeding. Otoya stood up as she let out a chuckle.

"You people are so weak- your emotions are such a weakness. I'm glad I'm not like you. It's just way too easy to manipulate empathetic and emotional people…"

Blood was dripping heavily from Chitaru's neck as she started coughing blood. She instinctively recoiled and reached the kitchen, but ended up collapsing onto the floor, much to Otoya's amusement. She then picked back her scissors.

"Things don't look too bright for you huh… Let me at least comfort you as you leave this world."

Otoya walked towards Chitaru, enjoying the sight of her wriggling and slowly bleeding to death on the floor.

"... Hi… Hitsugi…" Chitaru weakly mumbled.

"Yes. Your dear wife," Otoya began to say with a cruel smile. "Let me tell you the whole truth about her…"

* * *

When Shiena finally reached Otoya's house she discovered with fright that her door had been forced open. She immediately rushed inside despite the pain, worried for Otoya.

She noticed the blood splatter on the wall and her heart started to race with anxiety. She then spotted drops of blood on the floor and followed them up to the living room.

"Otoya…!"

"Shiena."

The brunette flinched and quickly turned back. Otoya was standing in the middle of the living room, near her broken coffee table. Her arm was dripping with blood and her face was all bruised and bloody. But what shocked Shiena the most was how cold and dead-inside she looked, with no emotion on her face and empty eyes.

Shiena started to shiver. Now that she confirmed that Otoya wasn't dead, she could finally realize how cold she was, all soaked with rain, panting.

"Otoya… I was so worried about you! I tried to call you but you didn't answer… what happened to-"

"Did you tell Namatame the truth, Shiena?" Otoya asked calmly but coldly. "The truth about me."

Shiena froze. She knew. There wasn't any point in pretending it wasn't true.

"I… yes. I'm sorry! I was scared okay?! I thought you were going to kill me!"

Otoya didn't answer anything. Worried, Shiena walked towards her, hoping that she could make her understand.

"Trust me, as soon as I realized I was wrong I rushed here to warn you so we could escape together, far away from here! Please you have to believe me! I… I love you so much!"

Otoya still remains quiet, much to Shiena's concern. She then also stepped forward and softly wrapped her arm around Shiena's shoulder A little bit too soft.

"Shiena… I _loved_ you."

A sudden pain stabbed Shiena through her stomach. She let out a gasp of pain as she looked down, discovering with horror a pair of scissors piercing her. She then raised her head to look at Otoya, confused, and shocked. Otoya still looked at her with such a cold expression, but there was now anger in her eyes… and pain? As if she was hurt.

"You betrayed me, Shiena. I gave you a chance and you betrayed my trust once again. I can't believe you anymore. It's over between us."

Otoya rashly removed the blade and let Shiena collapse to the floor, not even giving her a second look as she left the house. A small puddle of blood was forming under Shiena, who was too shocked to do anything.

Her body felt even colder now as tears rolled from her eyes, almost burning her cheeks before everything went black.

* * *

**The End.**

**...**

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**Of arc 2! Seeya next time for arc 3! I'll probably take a short hiatus to work on other projects but in the meantime, please let me know your thoughts and thanks for sticking with me for so long!**


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